Kilmarnock

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

Kilmarnock are 10th in the league, three points off bottom and four adrift of the top six. Their 13 goals is a mid-table tally, while only three teams have conceded more than their 18.

After just 11 games in a congested top flight, it probably is not time for panic stations - but what does the underlying data tell us?

The Rugby Park side's average possession of 39% is the second lowest in the division, as is the amount of touches they have had in the opposition box.

Just two teams are worse off for expected goals and expected goals against, yet Killie rank in mid-table for their shots on target, big chance creation, shooting accuracy and shot conversion.

Defensively, only Dundee United have made more errors leading to goals and Killie's goalkeeping save percentage is the second lowest in the league.

Stuart Kettlewell's next assignment is a visit to face Martin O'Neill's Celtic. There is also a trip to Hearts and a home game against Rangers among their next five fixtures.

Read more: Kilmarnock in freefall - but can Kettlewell turn it around?

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

The old saying tells us a week is a long time in football. Killie have just proved it beyond reasonable doubt.

It seems like yesterday we had a couple of wins and were climbing climb the table, but three horrendous defeats in a week have rekindled the worrying fears we had when the manager was appointed.

The trigger for us going into freefall appears to have been the loss of Max Stryjek, although it goes a lot deeper than that.

We now look a team who are weak defensively with a constantly changing midfield and an attack who lack creativity and goals.

Marcus Dackers is not a number nine as he drops off to link play, so perhaps new man Tyreece John-Jules should be given an extended run in the team.

The signs are more than worrying and the manager needs to rebuild confidence with both the players and fans.

The good news is it is still early days and we have a relatively straightforward trip to Parkhead this week. I fear we may be watching the game through our fingers.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Before Saturday's trip to Falkirk, Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell called on his players to "stop the bleeding" after losses against Hearts, Rangers and Aberdeen.

However, they were 3-0 down inside 38 minutes against John McGlynn's side as their losing run continued.

Only Dundee, Falkirk and Livingston have conceded more goals in the Premiership than Killie's 18 this season, with three of those coming directly from errors.

"I've watched a lot of their goals [conceded] and I don't think there's good communication," Neil McCann said on Sportscene.

"You've not got people taking responsibility and when that's happening, it's a tough one to get out of.

"Stuart is a good coach, he will try to get a result at Celtic, but he has got a lot to fix."

Watch highlights as Falkirk stun Kilmarnock 3-1 in the Scottish Premiership.

We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's 3-1 defeat against Falkirk.

Here's what some of you said:

Scott: Stuart Kettlewell has to go. You don't need to say any more - it really is that simple.

Gary: Forget all about being better second half, Falkirk were three up and taking it easy. Championship beckons, even at this early stage, as I don't think the manager knows how to fix it.

George: Always said it from day one, I do not rate the manager at all. Yes, we have been unlucky with injuries but some of his decisions are shocking at times. It was a good start to the campaign but it looks like a long hard season now - I hope I am wrong.

Craig: Lacklustre performance, no style of play, playing long balls to a guy that can't jump. It's not looking good at all. I would say Kettlewell out.

Kenny: Kettlewell should be worried, because as a Kilmarnock fan I certainly am. Despite the positive start to the season Killie are in free fall.

Kettlewell talks a good game and clearly understands what needs to be improved, but continues to pick the same defenders who make the same mistakes. Kilmarnock are two bad results away from looking for a new manager.

Eddie: The last four matches have been a hard watch. I assume we have a defensive coach, If we do get rid of him. If we don't, get one.

David: Time's up Kettlewell - you've done little to improve the squad and the results are now coming home to roost. Your time is up.

A shambolic performance - fans deserve not just an apology but your resignation! This simply comes back to the board making the wrong (too quick) decision to employ him.

Jim: Our goalkeeper is not the standard we require, but the best we have at the moment. Our defence has gaps in it, you could fly a jumbo jet through it. Our midfield is posted as missing. Our forwards are shot shy and cannot score goals.

This is what we have, this is our managers team. Last year's team have all but gone, and they were not great either, but they were 150 times better than what we have got now.

The season is gone for us, even this early. Unless things change, such as the removal of personnel that got us into this position, relegation is the only thing Killie fans can look forward to.

Falkirk's emphatic first-half display earned a third win in four league games as the promoted side rose to fifth place in the Scottish Premiership.

Read the match report here.

Have your say on the game here.

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell: "I don't focus on that side yet, I really don't [second-half fight back].

"I know sometimes people say this for effect, but we owe the travelling supporters an apology for the first 45 minutes.

"I'm huge on this aspect where people pay their hard-earned cash to come and follow their football club, and the absolute minimum, minimum that they should see is a real desire to come out in your individual battles, your individual duels as we now call it in football.

"And I basically think that in that first 45 minutes, I'm struggling to think of one occasion where a Kilmarnock player came out on top against a Falkirk player, and that was in and out of possession both ways.

"We're unable to pass the ball properly, we're unable to secure the ball, which gives up opportunities for a good team to keep coming back at you.

"And again, I have to take full responsibility for that.

"You talk about the fight back and the comeback in the second half, I sort of allude to the fact that it can be easy to do that when you're 3-0 down. How much worse can it get?

"My big question mark to us all, myself included, is - why are we finding ourselves in a stage over the last two weeks in four games, why are we not starting games of football the way that we seem to be reacting to adversity?

"So I think if that's the first time, that's all right, but once you get to game four now and you're looking at the same thing, then it quite clearly becomes my job to try and change that narrative in the first whatever 15, 20 minutes of a game of football so that you don't concede the first goal."

Caleb Akpo-Young
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell is looking for his side to show "urgency" from the start against Falkirk on Saturday as they bid to "stop the bleeding".

Defeat to Aberdeen in midweek extended Killie's losing run to three matches following losses to Rangers and league leaders Hearts.

With Kilmarnock conceding the opening goal in each of those games, Kettlewell is keen for his team to start strongly at the Falkirk Stadium.

"We always talk about trying to stop the bleeding as quickly as you possibly can and I do think it's important," he said.

"That's the last three games where we concede the first goal and it becomes a difficult task when you do that.

"Not to say there's been a lack of fight but I think in this league getting off to a good start and getting the first goal can be pivotal.

"Statistically if you get the first goal the percentages of winning the game become quite high.

"Sometimes the psyche of a player is that you have plenty of time in the game, sometimes you need to train your mind that you don't.

"There needs to be more of a relentless nature to score the next goal and to do it quickly.

"Every team wants to go and start the game well. The message from me again to the players is that we have had a lot of positive starts this season, we've found ourselves ahead in games, we need to make sure we treat that first 15-20 minutes as if it's the last and then the game can settle again.

"It's just to show a bit more urgency when you can in the early stages."

Caleb Akpo-Young
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell has been talking to the media before his side's trip to face Falkirk on Saturday.

Here are the main points from his press conference:

• Kettlewell is expecting a different type of match against Falkirk, who "pose a threat" with their counter-attacking style.

• The Killie boss is looking for his side to score first after conceding the opener in the past three games, all of which were defeats.

• The opening goal can be "pivotal" in winning matches he stressed.

• Reflecting on the 1-0 midweek loss to Aberdeen, Kettlewell admitted "frustration" with the result but believes there are plenty of "positives" to take from the overall performance.

• Asked if this has been one of tightest leagues he's been involved in, he replied "without a doubt".

• He adds: "Over the years, as a player and manager, there was always the odd game where maybe you're not at your best but you get a victory. I think you have to play well to win, I don't think there's such a thing of scrambling and scraping through something now because any errors will be highlighted".

• Kettlewell expects to have the same squad as midweek bar potentially "one or two" with no injury returns imminent.

Image source, SNS

• This will be Falkirk's first top-flight meeting with Kilmarnock since a goalless draw in May 2010; the Bairns have won just one of their past seven games against Killie at this level (D4 L2), a 2-1 victory in December 2009.

• During Falkirk's last spell in the top flight (2005-06 to 2009-10), Kilmarnock lost none of their eight away league games against them (W4 D4), most recently winning 1-0 in February 2010.

• Falkirk picked up their first home win of the top-flight season last time out when beating Dundee 1-0 – they last won back-to-back home games in the Scottish Premiership in September 2008, beating Hearts and Hamilton under John Hughes.

• Kilmarnock have lost their last their past three league games, last going on a longer losing streak when suffering eight straight Scottish Premiership defeats between January and February 2021. Killie last did so under the same manager in December 2020 under Alex Dyer (run of five).

• Kilmarnock have won just two of their 10 Scottish Premiership games under Stuart Kettlewell (D4 L4), the same number his two predecessors Tommy Wright and Derek McInnes managed at the same mark – both of those managers won their 11th game however, with the last Killie boss to win as few as two of his first 11 matches being Lee Clark in 2016 (2).

Swansea City striker Bobby Wales is attracting increasing loan interest from both sides of the border after Aberdeen failed to secure a deal for the former Kilmarnock player in the summer. (Aberdeen Live), external

We asked for your views after Kilmarnock lost 1-0 at home to Aberdeen for a third defeat in a row.

Here's what some of you said:

Andrew: Stuart Kettlewell got his line-up wrong. Despite the injury list he should have played an offensive team from kick-off. Killie were slow and passive in their build-up and passing which suited Aberdeen's formation. Only from the 59th minute with Bruce Anderson's introduction and subsequent substitutions did we add pace passing and chances. Kettlewell's tactics at home need to be much better or we are in for a long season as the early good play is slowly evaporating.

John: Passive, sideways football bereft of an effective strikeforce. Another hard watch where we continue to make mediocre teams look good, Hearts, Rangers and now Aberdeen all benefit from our lacklustre performances. Again our fleeting chances are wasted when they come, we desperately need to find goals from somewhere as we could still be playing now and not score.

James: What do we expect when we lose a first-class manager in Derek McInnes, first-class players like Stuart Findlay, Danny Armstrong, Bobby Wales, Fraser Murray and replace them all with second-class replacements? We play with two attackers up front and no wide men to get the ball to them.

Robert: Once again a lack of awareness gifted a goal to Aberdeen, we were poor playing backwards and I am afraid we have a 6ft 7in striker who has no awareness where he or his team-mates are and failed to win headers off guys feet smaller. Also why did it take Kettlewell 70 minutes to use his bench when we were abject?

William: Somebody has to take leadership in defence if we are to stabilise our fall. The aim of scoring at least once in every game seems to have evaporated, leaving the goal difference a possible factor in relegation.

Stephen: So much wrong with Killie just now. Little or no impact from the summer signings (Max Stryjek excepted) and a worrying loss of form from those who were previously reliable, particularly in defence. Not one player has improved since Kettlewell's arrival, and in the last three games we've been completely disjointed. We are so poor up front, even with all that possession against Aberdeen we never really looked like scoring. Trip to Falkirk on Saturday now looks like a huge game.

Watch the highlights as Aberdeen overcome Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership (UK only).

Aberdeen recorded successive away league wins for the first time since September 2024 to move up to 10th in the Scottish Premiership and level with Kilmarnock.

You can read the match report here.

Have your say here.

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock manager Stuart Kettlewell tells BBC Scotland: "We can talk about luck. I think you make your own luck in this game. We've played a game of football tonight where we've had the majority of the ball, the majority of chances, majority of corners, all the pressure.

"I think what was frustrating for us is we had a lot of the ball in the first half but without really going anywhere, without carving opportunities, we concede a horrendous goal yet again. A shot, a deflection, ball loops in the air. And what disappoints me is that there's an Aberdeen player that latches on to that first inside of our penalty box.

"We're not able to convert one of our chances, both from open play and from dead balls. And then that's obviously a recipe for losing games of football. If you make that error and you don't react properly, and you're not able to convert your chances. I feel that the worst we should have been walking away for this game was 0-0.

"It's disappointing. It's disappointing that it's another defeat for us. It's disappointing that we don't convert one of the chances. But again, we've got another game coming very, very quickly, so we have to ensure that we lift ourselves. But you can't just keep saying that either.

"I've spoken about the six that we conceded in the past two games against Hearts and Rangers. There's obvious individual errors in there. And then from the one today, purely for me, it's almost an instinct. It's making sure that that you never give up space inside your penalty box, that you play until that ball's dead or until you clear your line.

"I think that that one tonight is a wee bit more mentality and just being a bit cuter and a little bit more switched on and having a wee bit more desire to defend that space. It disappoints me that Stuart Armstrong gets to the ball first, it really does when we're in position to react.

"But ultimately we lost a game of football and it was one that, as I say, if we came out of here 0-0 I'd still be disappointed because I would feel that we passed up some opportunities.

"So at this minute in time I don't think any of us really could or should take any crumb of comfort. We've lost a game that I don't believe we should have but what we have to do is we have to make sure that we're ready to play against Falkirk on Saturday."

We asked for your views on what it means for Kilmarnock after goalkeeper Max Stryjek was ruled out for four months.

Here are some of your comments:

Stephen: First and foremost, best wishes to Max for his upcoming treatment and for a full recovery. Of all the summer signings, his was the single biggest improvement in any area of the pitch and his importance to the squad and positive influence on the defence can't be overstated. Just look at the goals we've conceded since his absence. Experienced, reliable keepers are hard to come by, but we now need another one in as soon as possible.

David: Without a doubt we need an experienced keeper in place. Our defence has crumbled since the loss of Max. No reflection on Eddie Beach but he needs more experience before being a No.1 keeper.

John: We need to get behind Beach and support him. He will learn from the last two games, the experience will serve him well. He played well in pre-season, so the ability is there, he just needs encouragement.

Dougie: Can't blame keepers all the time but I don't think the defence trust Beach. We eventually got a good keeper but what do we do now for the next few months?

Image source, SNS

• Kilmarnock's Stuart Kettlewell has lost eight of his 11 games against Aberdeen as a manager in the Scottish Premiership (W2 D1 – including as joint-manager with Steven Ferguson at Ross County), although did win his most recent 2-0 with Motherwell in January last season.

• Kilmarnock have won their past four home league games against Aberdeen - as many as their previous 24 beforehand (W4 D5 L15).

• The away side has lost nine of the past 10 league matches between Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, with the exception a 1-0 Killie win at Pittodrie in December 2023.

• Kilmarnock have only won one of their past six home league games (D2 L3), losing as many of those fixtures (3) as they had in their previous 17 (W9 D5 L3).

• After beating St Mirren 1-0, Aberdeen could secure successive away league wins for the first time since September 2024 (run of three).

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock keeper Max Stryjek will be out with a health issue for another 16 weeks. Lewis Mayo (calf) and Jamie Brandon (ankle/groin) are serious doubts while Kyle Magennis is back after a muscle complaint.

Djenairo Daniels remains sidelined after undergoing knee surgery while Marley Watkins is working his way back from a heel injury along with Matty Kennedy.

Aberdeen remain without Emmanuel Gyamfi and Kristers Tobers (knee) and will make a late decision on Alfie Dorrington.

Image source, SNS

Kilmarnock have confirmed goalkeeper Max Stryjex will be out for four months due to a medical issue.

The 29-year-old has missed the last two games with Eddie Beach playing instead.

Kilmarnock say after being examined by club doctors and "leading medical professionals" Stryjek will be out of action for approximately 16 weeks.

"Max is a hugely valued member of our squad and an outstanding professional," manager Stuart Kettlewell said.

"His health and wellbeing are our absolute priority, and he has the full support of everyone at the club.

"We'll be with him every step of the way and look forward to seeing him back doing what he loves when the time is right."

The club has not elaborated on Stryjek's condition and said only an "anomaly" was found after a routine test, and urged people to respect the goalkeeper's privacy.

Killie fans, just how big a blow is Styjek's absence? Do the club now need to a sign a replacement? Share your thoughts here.

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Kilmarnock boss Stuart Kettlewell expects nothing but the toughest of tests against struggling Aberdeen at Rugby Park on Wednesday night.

While the Ayrshire side are looking to bounce back from back-to-back Premiership defeats for the first time this season - to leaders Hearts and Rangers - Jimmy Thelin's side are second bottom of the table, one point ahead of Livingston and with only three wins in 15 games in all competitions.

However, Kettlewell still regards the Dons as "absolutely one of the biggest clubs in the country".

"There're a team that have invested very, very heavily in the playing squad," said the former Motherwell manager, who described defenders Lewis Mayo (calf) and Jamie Brandon (ankle/groin) who came off at Ibrox at half-time on Sunday as "serious doubts", while midfielder Kyle Magennis is back training after a muscle complaint.

Kettlewell added: "You look at the wealth and riches that they've got throughout their group.

"So it's going to be a proper test, no matter what anybody wants to think.

"The last two games we've played Hearts, who are flying high and against Rangers at Ibrox. You don't get a pass, you don't get an easy week.

"For anything that we've had this season, we've had to work exceptionally hard for it. We've had to be really well organised defensively and we've had to handle the ball well.

"As much as the errors we've had in the last couple of games, I don't feel we've handled the ball as well as we have done, which can often take away that threat of the mistakes and the errors in the wrong areas of the pitch.

"So there's a couple of messages for me that we need to get, we need to become more confident again in possession, because I don't feel we've seen too many patterns that we would expect in the last couple of games.

"But we're under no illusion, I think we've spent a lot of time post-Rangers having a look at Aberdeen in great detail.

"They carry numerous threats. They have some real quality and if we allow them to get their key players in possession of the ball, then they can hurt us."

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

Belief is something teams must show when travelling to difficult venues but I'm afraid we never witnessed it once at Ibrox.

It was another disjointed performance and for the second game in succession we lost three goals that were all preventable.

This league is hard enough without self-inflicted damage - it's a worrying trend. Young goalkeeper Eddie Beach wasn't totally to blame but he needs a spell out on loan to get experience and gain confidence.

If Max Stryjek is out for an extended period we need an established keeper in the door immediately. We all know how it ended before when we had dodgy keepers.

There is no time to feel sorry for ourselves with two huge games this week. On Wednesday underperforming Aberdeen visit Rugby Park so that would be the perfect time to get back on the rails.

We then travel to Falkirk who are on a great run. Four points from those two games would steady the Killie ship.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Image source, SNS

Captain Brad Lyons is urging Kilmarnock to bounce back at home against Aberdeen on Wednesday having been "angry and frustrated" after Sunday's 3-1 defeat away to Rangers.

A second successive loss leaves the Rugby Park club sitting eighth in the Premiership, three places above the Dons.

"The thing with football is, you can never be too high or too low," said Lyons.

"We started the season well and picked up a lot of good results, along with some good performances. We know what we're capable of and we know the quality we have in our dressing room.

"We're not going to shy away from the disappointment of Sunday, but it's a new one on Wednesday and that's the joy of midweek football. You quickly get the chance to correct it.

"I'm just frustrated and angry. When you come to Ibrox, you need to be defensively solid to get a result.

"Yes, we weren't pretty in possession but they never created much.

"The three goals they scored, when you break them down it's just mistakes from us.

"The boys hold their hands up. We're all accountable for it. Again, we're not blaming anyone. Anyone can make a mistake.

"We can't let that sneak into Wednesday night or next Saturday [away to Falkirk].

"This is an important week for us and we need to dust ourselves down. We'll analyse it and then hopefully correct it."