Kilmarnock

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes admitted at the weekend that he expects Danny Armstrong's fourth year at Rugby Park to be his last after the 27-year-old rejected a new contract amid rumoured interest from Hearts.

Given McInnes pointed out that Armstrong's performances had dipped this season, he might view young emerging striker Bobby Wales and blossoming midfielder Fraser Murray as bigger priorities, while veteran captain and striker Kyle Vassell and key defender Robbie Deas also have their futures to be decided.

Other contracts expiring: Kieran O'Hara, goalkeeper; Joe Wright, defender; Liam Donnelly, midfielder; Kyle Magennis, midfielder; Gary Mackay-Steven, midfielder; Rory McKenzie, forward; Innes Cameron, forward.

Read more: Premiership summer free agents facing uncertain January

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

I hope all you Killie fans had a wonderful Christmas and it was nice to see the team giving us a memorable present on Boxing Day.

The 90 minute performance against the flagging Dons was magnificent, our best in recent seasons, and only comparable to the five goal second half demolition of St Mirren last season.

Every single player contributed but special mention to Fraser Murray who is a man reborn in recent weeks.

We knew the trip to Easter Road, against in form Hibs, would be difficult and so it proved. In all fairness it wasn't the entertaining spectacle many were expecting and neither keeper had much to do.

The game was settled by Killie losing a cheap goal from a corner and once we went down to ten men (again) it was a step too far for us to recover.

It's very easy to pick on referees these days, as the standard of officiating is appalling, however the rookie ref here was easily the worst I've seen. He was clearly out his depth and at no time had proper control of the game.

Killie have the chance to accumulate some valuable points as we face three home games in six days, it could be a flying start to 2025.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine.

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• Kilmarnock are unbeaten across their last nine Scottish Premiership meetings with St Mirren (W4 D5) since a 0-2 defeat in February 2021.

• St Mirren are winless in their last 11 top-flight away games at Kilmarnock (D4 L7) since a 3-1 victory in May 2013 under Danny Lennon.

• Kilmarnock lost their first league game of 2024 3-1 to Rangers, but haven't lost their opening top-flight match in back-to-back years since 2007/2008.

• St Mirren have only won their first January match of a year in the top-flight in one of their last 11 attempts (D3 L7), a 2-1 victory over Dundee United in 2022.

• Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes has lost just one of his 33 managerial top-flight matches against St Mirren (W15 D17), and none of 15 such games at home to the Buddies (W8 D7).

Watch Sportscene analysis of Kilmarnock's 1-0 defeat against Hibs in the Scottish Premiership.

(Available to UK users only).

With the January transfer window fast approaching, where does your club need to strengthen?

Who do you want brought in and who - if anyone - is it time to ship out?

Tell us your dream transfer window, external

We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's 1-0 defeat against Hibs.

Here's what some of you said:

James: Once again we are talking about the referee. This guy was out of his depth, inconsistent to say the least. The sending off was ridiculous. After the penalty we didn't get at Fir Park you really despair about the standard of referees. It's always going to be a close game with Hibs and we didn't get going as we have in the last couple of games.

Jim: The game was played in difficult conditions which didn't allow free flowing football. We didn't look our normal selves, too many long balls up the park. We must take our chances and we did have a few. I also thought the referee was poor in some of his decisions, especially the sending off. Back to Rugby Park and hopefully three points.

Stephen: If Thursday served us up a wonderful feast with all the trimmings, this was cold, unappetising leftovers. Everything we did well against Aberdeen was inexplicably abandoned to resort to long ball tactics, which we persisted with despite it being totally ineffective. We just can't seem to put together two good games in a row, and it's costing us.

Adam: Very disappointing display. How can one player have a free shot on goal when you've got 11 men in the box, of which four of them were spectators watching the guy score, not one of them even attempted to get the ball! After such a brilliant display against Aberdeen, let ourselves down.

Robert: Sick of the incompetence from the officials. We're the third cleanest side and the fourth most fouled side in the league but have seven red cards. Apart from two, the rest are down to abysmal refereeing.

Jim: Danny Armstrong made it impossible for Killie to get anything out of the game. Another sending off and another suspension to contend with. If we continue with this folly, I am afraid we won't pick up enough points to keep us safe from relegation. Again, things must change.

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• Nicky Cadden has contributed to goals in his last three games in the Premiership (one goal, two assists).

• Kilmarnock have failed to score in seven of their 20 games, only Ross County (nine) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.

• Hibernian have scored in their last four games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of five games from 3 November 2024 to 30 November 2024.

• Kilmarnock have had seven players sent off in the Premiership this season, more than any other team in the competition.

Watch all the action from Hibernian's 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

(Available to UK users only).

Defeat at Easter Road ends a four-game unbeaten run for Derek McInnes' men, as Kilmarnock have now failed to win at Easter Road in their last 11 attempts.

Kilmarnock lost Joe Wright to injury before Danny Armstrong was sent off in the second half, with Hibernian midfielder Nectar Triantis nodding in the only goal of the game.

Whether you were at Easter Road or following along from home, we want to know your thoughts Killie fans.

Have your say here., external

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "I thought the game was pretty open in the first half. It was two teams playing different shapes. We had to deal with the unusual movement of two wingers playing as nines. Hoilett and Boyle made good runs in behind. We were a bit passive defensively at times. I thought we were far better in the second half.

"We started the second half really well. We had a good ascendency and there was a lot of nervousness coming from the Hibs team, I thought, at that point. They were not finding any real rhythm.

"We were doing the majority of the attacking and trying to ask the question, and just at that moment we go down to 10 men - inexplicably. The first one is a booking. Danny [Armstrong] is foolish and I'm not happy with [Armstrong for] that one. The second one is not even a foul. He is too late going in and he has tried to make the ground up, but he's done everything not to make the tackle and make a block. [Jack Iredale] has followed through and kicked into Danny. There is not a foul there. [The referee] has arrived at the wrong decision.

"We have lost Danny through a suspension and we lose Joe [Wright] through injury. We just need to wait and see. This is a testing time. Joe landed awkwardly and he never settled after that. Thankfully we had Robbie Deas to step in today. We are now going to be short. Hopefully Joe is not too serious. We'll get it scanned tomorrow."

Cam Wanstall
BBC Sport Scotland

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Derek McInnes opted to go unchanged following his side's resounding 4-0 victory over Aberdeen on Boxing Day.

He believed that performance to be Kilmarnock's "best attacking and defensive display" of the campaign but there was to be no repeat in Leith.

The Ayrshire outfit held up looked solid defensively throughout, while Kyle Vassell and Bobby Wales worked well feeding off scraps.

It was clearly a breakdown in transitional play within the midfield that kept their unwanted 11 match winless run at Easter Road.

The home team managed to largely contain Danny Armstrong, Fraser Murray and David Watson and won with relative ease.

That growing frustration may have played a part in Armstrong's eventual red card, which was Kilmarnock's league-high seventh dismissal in the Premiership this term.

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Liam Polwarth stood out for Kilmarnock despite their struggles in midfield, winning possession 12 times and having a 74.4% pass accuracy.

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Kilmarnock go unchanged following their resounding 4-0 victory over Aberdeen on Thursday.

Centre-back Robbie Deas returns to the bench after serving a suspension.

Matty Kennedy and Stuart Findlay remain sidelined by injury.

Follow our live coverage here.

Hibernian: Smith, Miller, Bushiri, Iredale, C Cadden, Triantis, Newell, N Cadden, Campbell, Hoilett, Boyle.

Substitutes: Bursik, O'Hora, Levitt, Amos, McKirdy, Hyeok-kyu, Obita, Moriah-Welsh, Gayle.

Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Mayo, Wright, Ndaba, Armstrong, Watson, Polwarth, Lyons, Murray, Vassell, Wales.

Substitutes: O'Hara, Burroughs, Deas, McKenzie, Mackay-Steven, Magennis, Cameron, Anderson, Donnelly.

Hearts are eyeing a move for Kilmarnock winger Danny Armstrong, with the 27-year-old about to enter the final six months of his deal at Rugby Park. (Scottish Sun), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

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Hibs striker Mykola Kuharevich and midfielder Rudi Molotnikov could return after missing out recently with groin issues.

Defender Warren O'Hora will be checked after playing through recent games with an ankle issue, but Marvin Ekpiteta and Kieron Bowie are still out.

Kilmarnock welcome back defender Robbie Deas after suspension, while winger Matty Kennedy could return after injury.

But Stuart Findlay is a long-term absentee.

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Kyle Vassell insists Kilmarnock were never concerned about their league position after their excellent recent form guided Derek McInnes' side up the Premiership table.

Hibernian's recent resurgence means perhaps they've flown under the radar, but Kilmarnock have also enjoyed a fine end to 2024 that has them knocking on the door of the top six.

Eight points from a possible 12 in their last four games has them eighth in the league, seven points clear of bottom side St Johnstone and suddenly looking up instead of down.

"We've never been worried about where we are in the table," Vassell said after the 4-0 win over Aberdeen on Boxing Day.

"It's a long season and this league is so tight, a couple of games, a couple of wins can turn your season.

"It happened to us last season. We've not been worried, we're not worried about that [relegation]. We've got too much in that dressing room to worry about that, we're always concentrating on going up."

The Killie skipper also singled out one teammate for praise. After a quiet start to the season, Fraser Murray has played an important role in Kilmarnock's renaissance and contributed two assists on Boxing Day.

"Fraz was excellent against Aberdeen," Vassell said. "It's a tough one for him because he's got one of the best players at the club in his position, in Matty Kennedy.

"So it's hard for him to get a chance, and then when he gets a chance, to take his chance because you have to be excellent to keep Matty out of the team.

"But with Matty's injury, it's really allowed him to keep on and get some confidence and get some self-belief.

"Every pre-season I've been at the club, he's been the best player pre-season, hands down. He's got bundles and bundles and bundles of ability and talent. And he's now just showing it to everyone.

"He's excellent, he can do both sides, left foot, right foot. He's a very talented boy."

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• Hibernian have only lost one of their last 12 Scottish Premiership meetings with Kilmarnock (W7 D4), going down 0-1 in November 2022 under Lee Johnson.

• Kilmarnock are winless in 10 Scottish Premiership visits to Hibernian (D3 L7), losing their last five in a row and failing to score at all in their last four.

• Hibernian have lost their final league match in five of the last six calendar years, winning the other 3-1 at Dundee United in 2021.

• Excluding years in which they were relegated, Kilmarnock have only lost their last Scottish Premiership match of a calendar year in one of their last seven such games (W3 D3), a 0-1 defeat to St Mirren in 2019.

• Kilmarnock's Bruce Anderson has scored in three of his last five Scottish Premiership appearances against Hibernian, including once in both of his last two against Hibs.