Kilmarnock

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

There may have been some small signs of optimism in recent weeks but our battering at Falkirk wiped out most of the positive vibes.

The main reason we are in 11th place is down to losing extremely soft goals all season and Saturday was another glaring example of our inability to defend.

We have said it before but it's worth repeating - the main priority in the window should have been a dominant and experienced centre-half.

There is a clear case for making four or five changes for the Hearts game so let's see how manager Neil McCann reacts to that humbling defeat.

McCann has been too loyal to several players so the time is right to freshen up both defence and midfield.

Three of our four remaining pre-split games are at home and they will go a long way to deciding our final league position.

Special mention again to the long-suffering fans who turned up in large numbers only for the team to ruin their weekend.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Watch Sportscene pundit Richard Foster discuss Kilmarnock's poor performance in their heavy 5-1 defeat at Falkirk.

Kilmarnock striker Marcus Dackers is set to seal a six-figure transfer to South Korea, with the 23-year-old having been given limited game time recently. (Killie Chronicle), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Watch all the action as Falkirk enjoy a comfortable Scottish Premiership win over Kilmarnock.

We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's 5-1 loss against Falkirk.

Here's what some of you said:

David: Disgraceful performance from the first minute. Each player needs to take a long hard look at themselves and ask - am I giving enough? For the 870 Killie fans that travelled, they should be reimbursed the ticket cost by the players - just not good enough!

Iain: What is there to say? Complete abdication of responsibility by the defence. Inept, incompetent - these are just words but there is nothing really anyone can say about this performance. I feel sorry for Kilmarnock's manager Neil McCann.

He gets the stick when everyone knows this is down to the players! They should go home, look in the mirror and ask themselves did I earn my pay cheque today? If honesty prevails they will answer that with a very humble, no!

James: Back to earth with a bump! Back to the same problems we have had all season. Dodgy goalkeeper, extremely poor defence and forwards that can't score. Only Greg Kiltie got pass marks, the rest were very poor. We need at least two central defenders.

Gary: Utterly disgraceful showing and they should be ashamed to take a wage from that performance. Shambolic, heartless and clueless. Play-offs at best.

Thomas: You could have driven a bus through the Killie defence. Woeful, clueless, ball-watching and incompetent. Need I say more?

David: We were well beaten by a better side. We just didn't turn up and paid the price. It was like being back in the Stuart Kettlewell era again!

Adam: Completely out played from early on. No midfield at all. Why not change things early, because even after three minutes it was obvious we were not at the game!

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann: "It doesnt help when you lose a goal in the first minute. We were beaten by the better team today, without question.

"I've got no gripes. Falkirk wanted it more, they were aggressive, up for it and it could have been more.

"We just come up well short. We faced a side that wanted it more, that won't be accepted. It's a sobering day for us and a reality check.

"We've had plenty of plaudits with how we were playing. But football is a hard game and if you don't turn up and play at your best that's what happens to you."

Scintillating Falkirk all-but secured a top-six berth in the Scottish Premiership by thrashing woeful Kilmarnock, who remain firmly in relegation danger.

How concerning was that defensive display from Killie?

Have your say.

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Falkirk defenders Liam Henderson and Lewis Neilson return but Louie Marsh faces up to eight weeks out with a thigh injury and Kyrell Wilson misses out with an ankle problem.

Ben Parkinson (ankle) remains sidelined, while Ross MacIver and Gary Oliver are still working their way back.

Kilmarnock striker Tyreece John-Jules is out for the rest of the season with a quad injury, while Jack Thomson is suspended.

Kyle Magennis is back training after recovering from a knee problem but is not ready to play. Djenairo Daniels (knee), Matty Kennedy (hip) and Lewis Mayo (hamstring) remain out.

Image source, SNS

Ethan Schilte-Brown says it would be "quite a jump" if he was to go from lower-league loan deals to the World Cup with Canada, but insists it is still his "dream".

The defender has featured for Canada's Under-20s and is hopeful he can earn a call-up for this summer's finals.

Schilte-Brown, 20, joined Killie's academy from the youth system of MLS side Orlando City in 2023 and had temporary spells with Canada's Halifax Wanderers, Cumnock, Albion Rovers and Dumbarton before impressing at Rugby Park this season.

Co-hosts Canada will face Iceland and Tunisia in a pair of international friendlies in late March as part of their World Cup preparations.

Prior to the Premiership game at Falkirk on Saturday, Schilte-Brown said: "My main focus is here and just trying to perform well for Killie, but if that's a by-product of what happens here then brilliant.

"That's the dream and it's never far from my thoughts but obviously my full focus is here right now.

"I think the gaffer spoke to them [Canada management team] but again I'm just focused here and I'm not going to read into anything until it's real or until it happens.

"That would be quite a jump [from loan deals]. I try and grow from every situation I am in. I learned a lot from Cumnock, Rovers and Dumbarton. It was really beneficial.

"As a young player, you need to play games. It doesn't do you any good just training all the time and no matter what level it is, there's a massive difference between playing with men and playing youth football, especially the physical side of it.

"You need to learn that if you're going to grow in the game and continue on.

"Playing first-team football is what everyone wants. That's where it's going to prepare you the most so I think it's prepared me.

"If I get called up, it's obviously an honour to get my first call-up, but I think with the World Cup in mind, you want to push on and prove to that manager that you're ready for that next step."

Killie are eight points ahead of bottom side Livingston and two behind St Mirren having played a game more than the Paisley side, but Schilte-Brown remains confident of retaining top-flight status.

He said: "I think there's every chance for us to get the safety. I think we will do it.

"The games that we have coming up are massive for us, especially the game this weekend with a sold-out away end, so just looking forward to it."

Image source, SNS

• Falkirk have won both of their Scottish Premiership games against Kilmarnock this season; the last opponent against which they won three games within a single top-flight campaign were Inverness CT in 2007-08.

• Kilmarnock have won just two of their past 23 away games against newly-promoted opponents in the top flight (D13 L8), both coming against St Mirren in 2018-19.

• Falkirk have lost their past two league games, last losing three in a row in the top flight in March 2010.

• Kilmarnock are winless in 11 away league games (D4 L7), last going longer on their travels without winning in the Scottish Premiership from August 2022 to April 2023 (16).

• Nineteen-year-old Ben Broggio has scored in both of his home Scottish Premiership games for Falkirk. The last player to net in his first three home appearances in the Scottish top flight was Mika Biereth for Motherwell in November 2023, while the last teenager to achieve this feat was James Forrest for Celtic in September 2010.

Daldeep Kaur
BBC Sport Scotland

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Manager Neil McCann has been speaking to the media before Kilmarnock's trip to face Falkirk on Saturday.

Here are the key lines from his press conference:

• McCann is "absolutely devastated" for striker Tyreece John-Jules, who is out for the rest of the season after signing a contract extension.

• He adds: "It's a huge blow to us as a team, because he's so good about the dressing room. I love him to bits, he's always smiling, he's always got a very good way about him. He's a very talented footballer, that isn't going to leave him, the talent."

• John-Jules is a "big influence" in the squad and McCann still wants him around "because of his personality".

• McCann praised Marley Watkins' spirit to return to the scoresheet after his injury and is "really pleased" for the 35-year-old, but doesn't think he's "ready to get 90 minutes under his belt".

• There is "really pleasing news" on Kyle Magennis as the midfielder, who has been out with a knee injury since October, is back in training.

• Having been "disappointed" to only pick up a point at Tannadice last weekend, McCann thinks "it's a good time to play" Falkirk because Killie are "in a good place".

• But he knows it will be a "very difficult game" and praised John McGlynn for the "degree of confidence and understanding" he has instilled in his team.

• "All the teams are very capable of beating each other," he says on the fight to escape relegation and the battle at the top of the table, but insists his full focus is on Killie.

• McCann praised the "absolutely brilliant" fans and insists they are a "massive help" as Killie recorded back-to-back wins at Rugby Park.

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Kilmarnock striker Tyreece John-Jules has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at Rugby Park until the summer of 2027.

However, the 25-year-old has sustained a "substantial" quad injury which will rule him out for the rest of the current campaign.

John-Jules joined Killie in October on a short-term deal before extending his stay for the rest of this season.

The former Arsenal man has scored eight goals for the Ayrshire outfit, but went off injured in his most recent outing.

"Tyreece is an influential character in the dressing room and will continue to play an important role around the club in the coming months," a club statement said.

"Everyone at the club is fully behind him during his recovery and we look forward to seeing him back on the pitch and ready to go for the new campaign."

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

Kilmarnock's hard-fought draw on the ploughed field of Tannadice may turn out to be a vital point come the end of May.

It was simply impossible to play good football on that surface and a share of the points was probably fair, even if we did leave it very late.

The manager had to rejig the team with Joe Hugill taking over the role as the main striker and he should improve with game time.

The injury to Tyreece John-Jules came just when he was in great form and we can only hope he is back sooner rather than later.

We gained a point on St Mirren who are one place above us, the Buddies are in freefall as they concede soft goals at one end and struggle to score at the other.

I suspect that the battle at both ends of the league will run until the last game, it's not often we can say that.

Killie are on the road again as we head to Falkirk who have had an excellent season so far.

They have dropped off a bit in recent weeks so hopefully Killie can take advantage and pick up at least a draw on Saturday.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Watch the best of the action from Tannadice as Kilmarnock rescue a last-gasp draw against Dundee United. (Available to UK users only)

We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's late draw at Dundee United.

Here's what some of you said:

Robert: Kelle Roos was outstanding, their goal was from skill not a mistake, and we kept going to the end. It was good to have Marley Watkins back. Definitely think the red for Jack Thomson was only a yellow, not the last man.

Amy: A deserved point in the end. We've got a much more exciting style of play now and actually look like we can score goals. Positive we'll have enough to catch St Mirren who've yet to beat us in the league.

John: I hope the team gets back to winning ways soon as we need more wins than draws. Hope we can keep David Watson, sign him up soon so that we can get a fair transfer price for him.

Frank: A point gained on a difficult pitch can only be positive. Not losing while not playing as well as previous games is also a positive. The team certainly rolled their sleeves up and game a honest account of themselves.

Anna: Well it makes a change for us to score in injury time instead of being scored against. One goal was always going to decide the game... or so it seemed until Watkins popped up with a priceless equaliser. My only criticism is why did we start Aaron Tshibola up front when there were proven strikers like Bruce Anderson and Watkins on the bench? Still, a priceless away point like that is always welcome.

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock boss Neil McCann says he feared Marley Watkins would not feature for the rest of the season when he took charge last month.

Watkins came off the bench to great effect on Saturday as he found the top corner with an excellent header to earn Killie a point at Dundee United.

And McCann praised the 35-year-old striker's powers of recovery.

"I'm so surprised that he's come back," McCann said.

"When I first came in, he was suffering from an ankle injury after recovering from a longer-term issue. I didn't think I'd see him again this season because we felt it might be quite a bad one.

"It just typifies what type of boy he is, that he's pushed himself to the situation where he's ready to be involved again.

"It's such a good header."

Image source, SNS

Celtic and Rangers will face competition from English and Italian clubs in the race to sign 21-year-old midfielder David Watson when his contract expires with Kilmarnock this summer. (Football Insider), external

Substitute Marley Watkins' injury-time equaliser earned Kilmarnock a dramatic point after Amar Fatah's sensational strike seemed to have led Dundee United to back-to-back Scottish Premiership wins for the first time this season.

Have your say

Read the match report

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Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann tells BBC Scotland: "For sheer character, determination, grit and bravery they got a really good point.

"It shows what this group feel about themselves that when we go down to 10 men they are still pouring forward in the latter stages to try and get the winner.

"I'm so glad for all the fans that travelled up to watch us on a horrible day. They stayed right to the end and I'm really pleased for them that they got something to show for it.

"There's so much to like about Kilmarnock right now. I'm so pleased for Marley Watkins as well. I didn't think I was going to see him this season because he got a really bad ankle injury but it typifies the spirit that they are pushing themselves to get on to the pitch.

"It was a wonderful goal, well-constructed and a great header. All round we can be quite pleased with a point."

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Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin indicated he will have everyone available except long-term absentee Isaac Pappoe (knee).

Kilmarnock striker Tyreece John-Jules will have a scan assessed after coming off against Celtic with a leg injury. Kyle Magennis (knee), Djenairo Daniels (knee), Matty Kennedy (hip) and Lewis Mayo (hamstring) remain out, while James Brown is close to a comeback.

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Kilmarnock goalkeeper Kelle Roos feels the Rugby Park side are in a positive moment as they look to move clear of relegation worries.

Neil McCann's side are 11th in the Premiership table, three points behind Dundee and St Mirren, who both have a game in hand, as the split nears. Though they lost in agonising fashion to Celtic last weekend after letting a two-goal lead slip, they have won two of their last four games and feel encouraged by how they have been playing.

"I feel like the performances have been – maybe not all put together just yet – but we are moving in a great direction," Roos said.

"That's how I feel and how everyone feels.

"And we need to keep doing that, but it all comes down to the same thing.

"You need to start with working hard every single day to keep that belief. You can't take the foot of the gas, even more so put it down at this moment in time.

"I don't like to look too much at the table right now.

"What we need to do is look at the next game, the next training session and the next meeting.

"I feel like that's the way you can really focus in, not be distracted with too many things and if we can manage to do that, then we have the best chance to take results every single game."

The 33-year-old only joined on loan from Notts County in January to help with the fight against relegation and the former Aberdeen keeper has no regrets about returning to the Premiership.

"I knew it was a great opportunity for me," he said.

"Obviously, the club is known for its mentality and hardworking, and I feel like that very much aligns with me.

"So when they came in, I was very excited, I quickly started speaking to everyone and got a great feeling.

"I've enjoyed it a lot.