Alison McConnell: Warning signs are there already for Alessio and Kilmarnock

And while it might seem a tad early for knee-jerk reactions and recriminations, it has to be said that there is a lingering suspicion Kilmarnock will be fretting they might just have made the wrong move in the appointment of Angelo Alessio.

It is, of course, ridiculously early to be talking about trap-door exits just yet. But Kilmarnock’s result on Thursday night, a 3-2 aggregate defeat to a team who finished third in the Welsh league and needed a penalty shoot-out to beat Edinburgh City in the Irn-Bru Cup five months ago, is arguably the most embarrassing defeats any Scottish side has suffered at this stage of European football.

And the bar for that particular honour is set fairly high.

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Brendan Rodgers’ was irked at the criticism that greeted his first competitive game in charge of Celtic – a defeat by lowly Lincoln Red Imps in Gibraltar. It was an ignominious beginning but dispatching their opponents in the return leg with a convincing win in Glasgow ensured that the result was seen as a red-faced hiccup rather than an indelible slight on his record.

Kilmarnock’s result on Thursday night throws us all back to the familiar hand-wringing of early European post-mortems.

There are very few standalone results in which a club could justifiably cut ties with a manager on the back of one solitary performance. But there would have been few eyebrows raised on Friday morning had the Rugby Park club done just that.

It is a dreadful and depressing result and while you can point to the lack of signings that have come in so far this summer and look at the players who have left the club without yet being replaced, the bottom line is that Kilmarnock ought to have had more than enough to see off Connah’s Quay Nomads.

Quite how Alessio recovers the trust of the support and steadies the ship before the season begins remains to be seen. Following on from Clarke was always going to be a difficult ask given the manner in which the Scotland manager revolutionised the mentality within the club and elevated them to league finishes few would ever have predicted but while it would be one thing to better what Clarke achieved, it is another to destroy what he left in one quick swoop.

The hangover left from such an embarrassing result will not dissipate easily.

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And for players where there is a fragility about confidence in a new manager and a new way of doing things, getting everyone back on side will be enormously difficult for the Italian who arrived at the club with such a huge reputation.

Part of the coaching team who led Italy to the quarter-finals of the 2016 World Cup, part of the coaching staff at Chelsea when the London side won the 2016/17 Premier League title and in the dug-out at Juventus when the Old Lady of Italian football won three Serie A titles between 2012-2014, quite how he managed to allow Kilmarnock’s first European campaign in 18 years to end in humiliation is something he will have ample time to ponder over the next few weeks.

Kilmarnock were applauded for their bravery in Alessio’s appointment and in their willingness to broaden their scope rather than go for an insular appointment. The one question mark, however, was the fact that the 54 year-old had only coached, briefly, on his own in the lower Italian league.

Lambasting the physical and robust style of the Welsh visitors only seemed to underline his naivety. Surely a player who made nearly 100 appearances for Juventus and who has watched teams and all their streetwise antics at the very top level should not be surprised by opponents adopting a physical approach to win a game of football?

It does not augur well for what lies ahead.

One can only hope that the three remaining survivors go on to make a dent in continental competition. Aberdeen’s wobble in Lapland was something they were able to recover from and there is no glee to be had in any Scottish team going out of Europe.

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The co-efficient has been so badly damaged in recent years by results at this stage of the qualification process that there is an argument to be had on whether Scotland should have so many places available for European competition, such is the overall carnage defeats at this stage do.

There is ample time for Kilmarnock to lick their wounds now but Scottish football needs to do itself justice as it looks to salvage a little bit of pride.

Whatever you think of women’s World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe – and everyone seems to have an opinion one way or the other – the 34-year-old has shown a level of courage in recent months that few other contemporary athletes are willing to reveal.

For most of us who reside in mixed zones and huddle inside bland interview rooms waiting for a little bit of colour, the sanitised and controversy-free opinion of footballers is notable.

Rapinoe deserves to be applauded for her willingness to openly offer a political opinion.

The leaked video footage of Rapinoe insisting she wouldn’t be “going to the f***ing White House” was recorded in March but strategically released during the women’s World Cup in France as the USA were on their way to winning the tournament.

Raheem Sterling spoke out last season on the media’s slanted coverage of black players while James McLean also raised his head above the parapet to explain why he does not wear a poppy. They stand apart purely because of the rarity with which a high-profile athlete shares a political opinion. It seems odd at a time when America is lurching towards the right Rapinoe’s critics should home in on what they perceive as misplaced arrogance.

Her dance moves and celebrations may not be everyone’s cup of tea but her eagerness to use her platform and position to offer a condemnation of the most powerful man in the world suggests a courage few are willing to match.