Kilmarnock

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

The bottom six are are still relatively tightly grouped as we prepare for the final eight games of the season.

In most seasons there is one team detached from the rest, which provides a bit of breathing space for the others fighting relegation.

St Johnstone are the team occupying the basement spot, but they haven't been in terrible form and still harbour hopes of escaping the drop even if they do have three tough fixtures before the split.

For Kilmarnock, they just need to find a bit of form and grab two or three wins that hopefully make us safe in what has been a very disappointing season so far.

Our away record is the worst in the league, but one place we normally do well in is Paisley.

The Buddies are not out of the woods either, so they will also be fighting for their lives in a proverbial six-pointer.

Stuart Findlay may well be back in contention and perhaps the influential defender may provide the spark that will see us claim a vital three points.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

No Kilmarnock fan needs telling Lewis Mayo enjoys defending.

Handy, yes, given his role in Derek McInnes' side but the 25-year-old has excelled at the back this season, again.

No player in the Scottish Premiership has pulled off more clearances in the league than the former Scotland youth international with a colossal 218.

Joe Wright is the closest Killie team-mate with 179.

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Jack Herrall
BBC Sport Scotland

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Kilmarnock striker Bruce Anderson is leading the Scottish Premiership for goals per 90 minutes played this season.

Anderson is averaging 0.75 goals for every 90 minutes of top-flight football, making him the league leader ahead of former Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi in second with 0.68 and Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers in third with 0.66.

Despite struggling for a consistent run of starts in Derek McInnes' side, Anderson has bagged eight goals in 23 appearances, made up of 14 starts and nine substitute outings.

The 26-year-old striker signed for Kilmarnock as a free agent following his departure from Livingston but is often rotated by his manager, with Kyle Vassell, Marley Watkins, Bobby Wales and Matty Kennedy also deployed in central positions.

Anderson, however, is comfortably the club's most prolific scorer in the league. His eight-goal haul is double that of Watkins and Kennedy, albeit four have come from the penalty spot.

With Kilmarnock continuing to toil in the league and perched precariously just one point above Dundee in the relegation play-off spot, Anderson's eye for goal and clinical touch may be an important asset for the side as they look to preserve their top-flight status.

We asked for your Kilmarnock player of the year - and the biggest disappointment.

Here's what some of you said:

Amy: Player of the year is probably Joe Wright. A tough start but the sign of a good player is being able to get through that and he's been fantastic for months now. As for disappointment, a fellow defender in Robbie Deas. Was superb last season but has been a shadow of that this term. Constantly making mistakes, looks unfit and at fault for many goals.

Frank: Fraser Murray has been outstanding this season and should be player of the year. Biggest disappointment has been Marley Watkins, nowhere near where he was last season.

Callum: Player of the year has to be Murray, only one willing to give 100% no matter what. Biggest letdown has to be Watkins.

Scott: Matty Kennedy was our best player until his injury, while Bobby Wales has made a huge impact and should have played more. Special mention to Wright, who has been excellent recently after a tough start to the season and lots of criticism. Biggest letdown is Watkins sadly. Top scorer last season and he always works hard, but he hasn't looked fit this year. It's just not happening for him.

James: Player of the year Murray. Biggest flop Watkins, followed closely by Liam Donnelly.

Crawford: Best player and biggest surprise by a mile is Murray. Danny Armstrong had a real form slump and has yet to regain performance levels of last season.

Kevin: It's a hard watch this season. Poor stuff a lot of the time and some strange team selections. Bruce Anderson a positive but both keepers not good enough at the top level based on their performances this season.

Robert: Best player Murray, biggest disappointment Derek McInnes' team tinkering.

With just eight Premiership games left, we're down to the business end of the season.

Player reputations have been enhanced - or sullied - with their performances throughout the campaign.

As thoughts begin to turn to end-of-term awards, we want to know your Kilmarnock player of the season so far - and the biggest flop.

Share your views

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

In our first season back in the Premiership we were really poor, mainly because of inconsistent team selection, constantly changing formations and too many square pegs in round holes.

The current campaign is increasingly looking like a mirror image of that and I just pray that we are as lucky again in avoiding the drop.

After the game on Saturday the manager admitted he got the starting 11 wrong - every Killie fan I spoke to pre-match could have told him that.

I had no idea what the formation was and who was playing where. The players appeared similarly confused.

It was only when Derek McInnes decided to play with a proper midfield, with Liam Polworth and David Watson being introduced, that we started to resemble a team.

We have eight massive games left to save our skins and if I had one request it would simply to pick players in their natural position.

The Corrie Ndaba midfield experiment has clearly failed so get him back to left-back where he can show his quality.

Stick Polworth in the middle, play Bobby Wales as a proper number nine and we may just get back to winning ways, although I won't hold my breath.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Watch as the Sportscene team analyse Kilmarnock's late equaliser against Hibernian. (UK only)

Watch all the action as Kilmarnock fought back to secure a 1-1 draw with Hibs at Rugby Park.

Available to UK users only.

Killie fans, we asked for your views after Saturday's 1-1 draw against Hibs.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Stephen: Another bizarre starting line-up with three wingers on but a big gap in the middle of the park, which says everything about Derek McInnes' preferred style of football. The Hibs goal was laughable, I last saw a goal like that in the school playground. We looked better when David Watson and Bruce Anderson came on. Probably an undeserved point but it may yet prove crucial.

James: We got away with a lucky draw. The team was wrong from the start, we can't play Danny Armstrong, Matty Kennedy & Fraser Murray in the same team. We were a lot better when Liam Polworth & Watson came on. Corrie Ndaba isn't a great midfielder, he's better at left-back. I thought Calvin Ramsay looked good at right-back.

Robert: The only positive was a point. Del replicated Hibs' line up but you'd think they'd never played together before. Hibs really didn't threaten our goal that often and their goal came from a very poor Killie corner. Our strikers were posted missing. It was a relegation performance

Frank: Very poor game with little or no football played until changes were made when Polworth and Watson came on. The defence were all over the place, they all looked nervous and their decisions when on the ball left a lot to be desired. The only shinning light as he has been all season was Fraser Murray. Relegation fight now on.

James F: Lets not kid ourselves the performance was extremely poor, we made Hibs look good. The manager picks the team, again why is Marley Watkins on the field, why is Danny Armstrong even considered, why is Ndaba played out of position? We are in deep trouble and relegation looms.

Anon: Lost a ridiculous goal from our corner, failed to convert the few chances we had. The way things have gone this season I will settle for top ten.

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Killie came from behind to snatch a vital point at home to high-flying Hibs.

You can catch all the highlights from the Premiership clash over on the BBC iPlayer or via this link.

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• Martin Boyle has scored nine goals in the Premiership this season (one in this game), more than any other Hibernian player.

• Hibernian have scored in their last four games in the Premiership, scoring eight goals in that run, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of nine games from 14 December 2024 to 1 February 2025.

• Hibernian have lost 20 points from winning positions in the Premiership this season, no team has lost more.

• Kilmarnock have won 13 points from losing positions in the Premiership this season, no team has recovered more.

• Hibernian are undefeated in their last 14 games in the Premiership, their longest unbeaten streak in the competition (since at least 2013/2014).

• Kilmarnock have failed to win in their last four games in the Premiership, their last longer winless streak was from 3 November 2024 to 7 December 2024, a run of six games.

Kilmarnock rescued an injury-time point thanks to Fraser Murray's close-range finish as Hibernian were denied another Scottish Premiership win in a dramatic ending.

Despite that late concession, the visitors extended their unbeaten league run to 14 matches, having led for a long spell thanks to Martin Boyle's first-half opener. And Hibs stay third after Aberdeen also dropped points on the road.

The point might not be quite so rewarding for Kilmarnock, though, as their hopes of a top-six finish now seem a long shot at best.

Were you at Rugby Park today or following along from elsewhere?

Give us your thoughts on the game here., external

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: "We have had games recently where we've had nothing for our efforts, up at Pittodrie I thought we deserved a point.

"Certainly deserved something last time out of Ross County but I think it's fair to say, I think in the context of today's gameI thought Hibs were the better team.

"I think they came here in good confidence and good form. I think this is the best Hibs team that I've come up against in a few years, I think they've got a wee bit of everything and with that added ingredient of confidence, think they've got ballplayers, they've got size, athleticism on the sides and a proper front pairing. Obviously Hoilett was added to that as well.

"We looked a wee bit spooked by their movement at the top end of the pitch and when we did try to get after them and be brave with our press, they banged it in behind and shook us up a wee bit and made us a bit more nervous than we wanted to be.

"That said, they didn't work our goalkeeper too much but obviously when you watch the flow of the game and the nature of the first goal that we lose, it's a wee bit self-inflicted. We've tried something, it's not worked, somebody's not done their job right and the whole build up to that and when you do set plays, everybody has to do what needs to be done and Hibs were good enough to punish us.

"I don't think I get the team right today and I think it's my job to try get as much confidence into the team as possible, particularly with the nature of the games coming up.

"I don't think I get the team right today and I think it's my job to try get as much confidence into the team as possible, particularly with the nature of the games coming up.

"And hopefully by the time the St Mirren game comes round we've got Stuart Finlday back training in and Kyle Vassell, so it's not all bad, it's not all negative, it's a good point in the end.

"But there's an honesty from us all that we needed to be better."

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Coming into this, it felt that the outcome here might significantly shape Kilmarnock's season run-in.

A win would have provided a shot at top six. That looks gone. Defeat would have kept them in an increasingly dangerous position and certainly not where they want to be at this stage of the campaign.

The point changes that slightly but may be more important psychologically than anything else. Home fans looked very worried until Murray's late equaliser.

With St Mirren away, Motherwell at home and then a trip to Celtic before the split, it seems clear that pulling away from danger is now an urgent priority.

Defensively, they don't look secure. The concession from their own corner was criminal. Hibernian looked composed for the most part and found space in dangerous areas too often.

Changes to shape and personnel didn't make too much difference until late on but Derek McInnes will know form needs to improve quickly to avert immediate danger.

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Kilmarnock have lost Kyle Magennis for six to eight weeks with the knee injury that forced him off against Ross County.

Kyle Vassell and Stuart Findlay remain out after ankle injuries but both are back running.

Hibernian are without influential pair Nicky Cadden (hamstring) and Joe Newell (pelvis).

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Matty Kennedy is determined to help Kilmarnock make a late surge for the top six after returning from an injury lay-off that was a lot longer than expected.

The influential winger has had three brief substitute appearances since returning from three-and-a-half months out with a back problem.

Kennedy has made the most of Killie's two-week break from action before Saturday's visit of Hibs.

"It's been good to get more training sessions and there was a reserve game as well," the 30-year-old said. "So it's been good for my fitness.

"At first when I got injured, I didn't think it would be as long, and another part of the injury affected me which we didn't notice at first. Once I got that sorted I got back on the training pitch.

"It is hard, we all go through it at some point in our career. I thought it would be a lot shorter than it was and you have your family and friends asking when you are going to be fit. It's not ideal when you have no idea.

"It is difficult when you don't know when you are going to be fit. The weeks pass and it's another game missed. It's not ideal to keep your head but we I'm fit now."

Tenth-place Killie are six points off the bottom and six adrift of sixth with just four games left before the split, but Kennedy insists they are only looking up as they attempt to match last season's top-half finish.

"We as a group have always spoken about the teams in front of us, trying to push up the table, we have not looked behind," he said.

"I feel with the squad we have, we shouldn't be where we are, we should be higher up. We will push each game trying to get three points and see where it takes us.

"It's obviously not ideal where we are and it might be we have a few games short, but we need to win now if we are going to have a chance."

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• Kilmarnock have only won one of their last 13 Premiership meetings with Hibernian (D4 L8), a 1-0 victory at home in November 2022.

• Since the start of last season, all three of Hibs' league visits to Kilmarnock have been score draws – two 2-2 stalemates in 2023-24, and a 1-1 draw in September of this campaign.

• Kilmarnock have lost each of their last three league games, last losing more in succession in the top-fight in February 2021 (eight in a row).

• Hibs remain unbeaten in 13 league games (W9 D4), winning each of their last three in a row while scoring at least twice each time. Hibs last won four Premiership matches in a row while scoring two or more goals in each in February 2021.

• Hibs' Martin Boyle has scored eight goals in this season's Premiership, his second-most in a single campaign in the division, behind only his 12 in 2020-21. However, just one of his eight strikes has come away from home, netting at Aberdeen in December.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Derek McInnes believes the inclusion of teenagers James Wilson and Lennon Miller in the latest Scotland squad should encourage Kilmarnock's own youth prodigy Bobby Wales.

The manager also believes it should motivate the 19-year-old, whose contract is up at the end of the season, to stay at Rugby Park.

"It should be an incentive for all players that if you're playing regularly and doing well in the Scottish Premiership, you're normally in the eye of the Scotland manager," McInnes said.

"Likewise for Bobby, if he looks even at James Wilson getting called up - somebody who's young and playing and scoring in the Premier League, as is Bobby. They're different types of players but there's similar pathways and similar in terms of their development."

McInnes has been trying for months to secure the striker's future at the club and the Kilmarnock local has previously admitted it would be hard for him to leave.

"I firmly believe that Bobby being here longer will be the right move for him," the manager added.

"I've got my Killie head on here and I want Bobby to be here for our club and for our cause, but I actually think it would be really good for him.

"I'd be devastated if Bobby was to leave, knowing that if he performs well, with us, I'm sure he can get into the international set-up, I've no doubt about it."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media before his side's Premiership clash with Hibernian this weekend.

Here are the key points:

• Although he'd rather have been playing in the Scottish Cup, it has been "a good break" that has allowed McInnes to get key players Matty Kennedy, Stuart Findlay and Kyle Vassell closer to fitness.

• Of the three, Kennedy - who returned last month from a lengthy lay-off - "benefitted most" and is now "a bit closer to starting games" while McInnes believes his side have missed "the physicality and leadership" of Findlay and Vassell, who are set to be back for the St Mirren game after the international hiatus.

• The manager would be "devastated" if Bobby Wales does not sign a new deal and leaves at the end of the campaign.

• McInnes adds that Motherwell's Lennon Miller and Hearts' James Wilson, both 18, being called up to the Scotland squad should be an added incentive for Wales to stay at Killie.

• The Killie boss doesn't believe Hibs' cup exit to Celtic will "derail them" after their 15-game unbeaten run ended.

• He believes from "sixth down, nobody can breathe easy" to due to the unusual tightness of the league.

• McInnes says the rollercoaster Hibs have been on this season "will be good" for David Gray because "sometimes you don't find out about yourself until you get through" a tough spell.

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Kilmarnock have reported a reduced loss of £974,000 for the year to May 2024, with turnover having increased by more than £1m.

The Scottish Premiership club, who made a loss of £1.12m a year earlier, took in £7.66m, compared with £6.41m in 2022-23.

Last season's higher finish of fourth in the table (up six places), boosted coffers by almost £550,000 and secured a European qualifying place at the start of the current season.

In the profit and loss section of their accounts, Killie list a 'cost of sales' figure of around £1.24m, which is a £330,000 change from 2023, while administrative expenses totalled around £8.01m - up from £6.84m.

The Rugby Park club had net current liabilities of £542,000 but "£459,359 was written off the balance due to Billy Bowie Special Projects Limited".

Cash in the bank was listed as £121,000.

Derek McInnes' Killie are 10th in the Premiership, six points off the top six with four games until the division's split.

The club are planning to replace their artificial surface at Rugby Park before the start of season 2026-27, which "will see a significant push to assist with the fundraising required".

"Club majority shareholder, Billy Bowie, will finance and manage the development of the new training facility, Bowie Park," said secretary Graeme Bryson.

"With the support of 5,000 season-ticket holders, we believe the club is in the strongest possible position to sustain life in the Premiership."

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

We are getting to the time of the season where the nerves kick in, the tempers get frayed and the lager intake sees a sharp increase.

Killie's three defeats in a week was very damaging and it simply puts a bit more pressure on our upcoming fixtures.

First up is a visit from Hibs who are on a great run even if they did get knocked out the cup at Parkhead last Sunday.

A fixture against the Hibees brings memories of Kris Boyd saving our skins our skins on the last day of the season, Paul Wright scoring world-class goals and endless entertainment on the bridge of doom.

Mostly though our last-day survival under Tommy Burns with over 6,000 fans in the capital is one of my favourite Killie memories.

That side displayed an incredible desire to succeed and that is the one quality we need more than any other in our remaining fixtures.

Hopefully we may have a few faces back from injury to strengthen the squad this weekend. Three points may just be the timely boost we need for a difficult run-in.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

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Kilmarnock teenager Bobby Wales is an "elite striker" who should be fast-tracked into the Scotland squad along with Hearts forward James Wilson.

That's the view of Scottish coach and football analyst John Walker, who would rather see Wales, 19, and 18-year-old Wilson named in Steve Clarke's squad on Tuesday for the looming Nations League play-off with Greece than Ipswich Town's George Hirst, who has been linked with a call-up.

"Anyone that's seen Wales play football up close knows he has absolutely everything, he is an elite striker and should be playing at the level that Hirst is playing at," said Walker on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"The more you see of Wales the more I'm impressed, he's got everything, absolutely everything.

"He's an aggressive presser, he's got pace, he's brilliant at bringing people into play, he's got a great finish, he's really composed in front of goal.

"Him and Wilson, the sooner you get them into the squad, the sooner those two progress their careers, because the reality for Scottish football needs to be that we are feeder clubs for bigger stepping stones.

"Wilson and Wales are people that will feature in the national side going forward, I think you just get them in now.

"You're just kicking the can down to get Hirst in at 26, 27, for him to potentially be around for four years.

"At some point you need to stop, but this is the problem. Steve Clarke's got the carrot in front of him of you need to get to a World Cup, so maybe he's looking at it only in this cycle alone and [thinks] Hirst gives me the best chance to do that just now."