Kilmarnock

We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's draw with Dundee.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Anna: Absolute garbage today. When will Derek McInnes realise that a back three doesn't work for us? The midfield were totally clueless and strikers as much use as a chocolate teapot. Why wait until 75th minute to make changes? Bonkers. Drop Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins next game and try Bruce Anderson and Bobby Wales up front because they can't do any worse can they?

Scott: We need to be banking three points in these home games. The pattern of play, honking first half then exceptional display in the second epitomises our performances throughout this season. There’s a good team somewhere in there, Del just needs it to show up and fingers crossed we get some consistency and climb the table, otherwise we’re in a dogfight.

Martin: I felt that the first half was more about not losing the game than winning the game, however some subtle changes made the second half an easier watch. A point apiece was probably the right result and we finished with 11 on the park which was helpful. Wales was very good when he came on but I just wish Derek would make these changes earlier.

Anon: Overly cautious approach for the first half with the change of formation. Second half a lot better and should have taken all three points. Young Wales needs a contract extension or we could lose a major asset.

Dap: It’s good to have a weekend with some positives! No red cards and a decent second half. More of that please. Could have been better but at least we got something from a decent Dundee team.

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• Dundee have scored in their last four games in the Premiership, their joint longest scoring streak this season.

• Dundee have lost 10 points from winning positions in the Premiership this season, only Hibernian (16) have lost more.

• Kilmarnock have won 10 points from losing positions in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.

• Dundee have scored in each of their last 4 games in the Premiership, scoring nine goals in that run.

Substitute Bobby Wales scored moments after coming on to rescue a point for Kilmarnock at home to Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

In a game that lacked quality, Dundee struck first through Lyall Cameron when the midfielder fired a loose ball into the top corner.

Derek McInnes made a change 12 minutes from time, bringing on young striker Wales, who made an instant impact lashing in Kyle Vassell's pass.

What did you make of that, Kilmarnock fans? What went right and what went wrong?

Let us know your thoughts, external.

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Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes told BBC Scotland: "We were the better team. We were a bit slow out the traps, Dundee started much better than us. They played percentages, got it in channels and we never really got going in that first 10 or 15 minutes.

"Once the first half played out, we carved a few opportunities, got more of a sense of what we were looking for. We spoke at half time about what we had worked on, and we played in a different gear second half.

"We were terrific second half, relentless with our work. Good opportunities, more shots and corners, and I'm disappointed not to win the game.

"It's a fantastic equaliser from wee Bobby Wales. He showed calmness when we needed it. We manufactured a lot of opportunities. We just needed a wee bit calmness and quality.

"I thought we did enough to win, particularly second half.

"You've got to be ready for those moments. We had good pressure in that second half, a lot of good crosses getting put in. There was no doubt we were the team really pushing for the win."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Eyebrows were raised by McInnes' starting XI. Two wingers, three strikers, and just one central midfielder. There was a change of shape, with Bruce Anderson, Vassell and Watkins up top.

Despite that, the lack of attacking threat was apparent. Lyons and Corrie Ndaba, playing together in midfield, didn't offer much creativity and Murray and Mackay-Steven took a while to get going.

It started to click after half-time, but as soon as Wales came on he offered distinctly more threat than the three senior strikers above him.

Capable of turning a defender, he also had the confidence of youth to take shots on and came close to scoring an incredible second.

He's certainly pushing for a first-team place now.

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Bobby Wales. The teenager was a real threat when he was on the pitch, winning his side and point and almost bagging all three as he came close to a second goal.

With Kyle Vassell, Marley Watkins and Bruce Anderson struggling for consistency, is it time to turn to the 19-year-old?

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Joe Wright has dismissed notions of Kilmarnock being "a dirty team", despite their poor disciplinary record this season.

Derek McInnes' side have received six red cards in total this season, with Liam Donnelly suspended for Saturday's match against Dundee having been sent off in the defeat by St Johnstone last weekend.

"Obviously I've had a couple myself, which I've taken accountability for and have tried my best to learn from that," Wright said, when asked about the issues Killie have had.

"And I just think that's what we've got to do as a group, learn from those mistakes.

"Obviously it's frustrating for the people that are getting sent off, but more so for the team, the support and the management.

"It's something I've never had an issue with before. Before this season, I had one red card in my whole career.

"So I wouldn't say we're a dirty team or anything like that, I just think it's, it's been a bit like London buses, they have just all come at once."

Wright says he is now trying to avoid diving into challenges as readily as he "adapts" his game to avoid further run-ins with referees.

"I have had a chat with the manager," he said. "He just spoke to me about getting back to how I was last season. I don't even think I really pick up that many yellows normally.

"So for myself to pick up two red cards in such a short space of time is something that I've tried to learn from, take accountability for and just address the way I train as well. I've tried to make sure that I stay on my feet more, probably adapting a little bit to try and help myself on match days.

"Just trying to maybe slow people down a bit more. I'm a defender that likes to be aggressive, likes to put players under pressure, but I think there's times where I've just adapted that a little bit."

Shanghai Port head coach Kevin Muscat is the bookmakers' favourite to be the new Rangers manager should Philippe Clement be sacked, just ahead of fellow former Ibrox player Derek McInnes of Kilmarnock. (The Scotsman), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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• Kilmarnock have only lost one of their last seven Scottish Premiership home games against Dundee (W3 D3) and are unbeaten in four (W2 D2) since a 1-0 reverse in May 2017.

• Dundee's 3-2 win over Kilmarnock earlier this month was their first in 12 Scottish Premiership meetings with Kilmarnock (D7 L4). The Dark Blues last won successive games against Killie in the competition in August 2015 (run of 3).

• Kilmarnock have lost their last three league games; not since February 2021 have they lost more in a row in the Scottish Premiership (run of 8).

• No side has kept fewer clean sheets (1) or faced more shots (197) in the Scottish Premiership this season than Dundee.

• Kilmarnock's Matty Kennedy has created more chances (31) than any other player in this season's Scottish Premiership, although only one of those has ended up as an assist.

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Derek McInnes feels his Kilmarnock side have been punished "to the full extreme" for challenges this season.

Liam Donnelly was sent off for a second booking in last weekend's 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone - the sixth red card Killie have been shown in 13 games so far.

"I don't believe we're an excessively physical team," the manager said.

"Apart from Joe Wright off the ball at St Mirren, I think we've been punished to the full extreme.

"I don't believe we have a discipline problem but the number of red cards would suggest otherwise.

"We're seeing players getting sent off or cautioned for two tackles far too often. I think the bar has been set so low this season but we're not seeing the same offence punished consistently.

"If the bar is set low we need to make sure we are squeaky clean but I do think we've been on the wrong end of a few things."

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Derek McInnes has been speaking to the media as his side prepare to face Dundee at Rugby Park on Saturday.

Here are the main points:

• McInnes reveals that Stuart Findlay has successfully undergone his operation and will now be out for the best part of three to four months.

• In light of Findlay's absence, the Killie manager suggests they will look to strengthen in January but this will be guided by what happens in the coming weeks.

• The manager also reveals David Watson suffered a thigh strain last weekend so at the moment he is "tough and go". Matty Kennedy hasn't trained with the squad so far this week but has had an injection in his back to hopefully be ready for the weekend.

• McInnes is critical of inconsistency with bookings and red cards and says "I don't believe we're a dirty team" in light of numerous sending offs this season.

• The Killie boss doesn't want to keep talking about red cards but thinks his side have been punished to the "full extreme" when it comes to bookings and second yellows -"I don't believe we have a discipline problem but the number of red cards would suggest otherwise."

• He adds him and his staff may need to start thinking about substituting players if they get yellow cards, something he's never considered before in his 17 years of manager.

• On Liam Donnelly's sending off at the weekend, McInnes says "I'd be apoplectic if he didn't make a challenge there" and insists not every card is a yellow card offence.

• Looking ahead to Dundee, McInnes shares his disappointment in the way they lost the last meeting and notes how "unusual" it is to be facing Tony Docherty's side for the third time this season, despite it only being November.

• Looking further ahead to their next 10 games, six of which are at home, the boss urges his side to capitalise on their upcoming Rugby Park matches.

• McInnes adds that by the time Killie come out of festive fixtures he wants them to be at least mid table and looking to push on.

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

In last week's column we asked Killie to repeat the Celtic performance at Perth and we'd be just fine. Sadly we got the polar opposite.

It was one of those showings that raises doubts as to where we will end up at the end of the season.

We were laboured and predictable throughout, with our substitutions merely being like for like and making things way too easy for the opposition.

The fact we have faced St Johnstone and Ross County three times now and have lost all three is a major cause for concern.

It seems rival teams have us sussed and the manager's decision to remain loyal to so many of last season's players has backfired thus far.

Our glaring problems include losing soft goals and a total lack of discipline, yet the manager sticks with them and a striker - Kyle Vassell - who has scored one goal and contributed no assists in 12 league appearances.

There are many other issues I could go into but my counsellor has told me to go for a wee lie down! We have Dundee at home this week and it goes without saying that a win is crucial.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine.

Watch Sportscene analysis of Kilmarnock's 1-0 defeat against St Johnstone.

Watch highlights as St Johnstone win 1-0 against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership.

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

Here's what some of you said:

George: Liam Donnelly is hopeless. The red cards are shocking, what's going on? We missed Matty Kennedy.

Alexander: Offload Donnelly as soon as possible, he is a liability.

John: Like the old days if a team needs a win play Killie, are the players as close to each other as they claim?

Jim: I keep saying it Marley Watkins and Kyle Vassell are not producing the goods. It is now time to play Bruce Anderson and Innes Cameron as our front pairing. If they don't score then it is no worse than the other two. We are now in a relegation battle.

Wolfgang: Joe Wright with two reds, Donnelly with two reds and Brad Lyons with one. If these guys don't prove to Derek McInnes why we should keep them, I think we need to start looking for a revamp! Wasn't a great game and the red card wouldn't have changed anything but Derek is a good manager, and some of these players are letting him down!

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• Kilmarnock have failed to score in five of their 13 games, only Ross County (seven) have failed to score more often in the Premiership this season.

• St Johnstone have scored in their last six games in the Premiership, their longest scoring streak this season.

• Kilmarnock have lost their last three games in the Premiership, their last joint longest losing streak was from 4th August 2024 to 25th August 2024.

• St Johnstone have scored in each of their last six games in the Premiership, scoring nine goals in that run.

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes: “There was loads of disruption and the boys were on the bus for four-and-a-half hours getting up here.

“We planned to have a pre-match meal at Dunblane and that had to be knocked on the head. But we didn’t allow that to impact us and we actually started really well.

“But our discipline isn’t helping us and we have to be better. We are seeing a lot of red cards and I guarantee you, a lot of them would not have been given last season."

Kilmarnock suffered a third successive Scottish Premiership defeat on Saturday when they lost 1-0 to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

Let us know your thoughts on the match here., external

Adam Binnie
BBC Sport Scotland

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The soft pitch made intricate passing moves difficult so Kilmarnock elected to constantly sling early deliveries into the box.

The visitors attempted a staggering 39 crosses and won 14 corners, yielding just one shot on target in the process.

That paired with a weak passing accuracy of just 65% makes for grim reading if you're a Kilmarnock fan.

Perhaps they missed Matty Kennedy and relied too heavily on Danny Armstrong?

The winger attempted 15 of the 39 total crosses but couldn't produce the goods on his return to the starting XI after a hamstring injury.

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St Johnstone: Rae, Wright, Mikulic, Sanders, Raymond, Carey, Sprangler, Holt, Clark, Kirk, Kimpioka

Substitutes: Sinclair, Cameron, Neilson, Essel, Sidibeh, Kucheriavyi, Smith, McPake, Franczak

Kilmarnock: McCrorie, Mayo, Wright, Deas, Ndaba, Donnelly, Lyons, Watson, Armstrong, Vassell, Watkins

Substitutes: O'Hara, Burroughs, McKenzie, Mackay-Steven, Murray, Cameron, Anderson, Polworth, Bainbridge

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Goalkeeper Ross Sinclair is available again for St Johnstone, who are just missing long-term absentees Uche Ikpeazu (knee), Cammy MacPherson (hip) and Sam McClelland (Achilles).

Kilmarnock midfielder Liam Polworth is back in contention while Danny Armstrong missed the Celtic game with a hamstring injury.

Stuart Findlay (ankle) is out long term and Kyle Magennis is working towards a comeback.