Kilmarnock

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David Watson wants his team-mates to make Rugby Park a "fortress again" as Kilmarnock prepare to host Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

Killie salvaged a point on the road against St Mirren last time out, despite being down to 10 men, and 19-year-old midfielder Watson praised his team's spirit.

"It's exciting to be back on Rugby Park, we're looking to try and kick on after last week's result," said Watson.

"It was a hard game but we managed to dig in and get a point and it could end up being a good point for us in the long run.

"We've got a good team spirit, a dedication, we're all very good team-mates and we're a close knit group.

"We knew we'd be able to dig in and we we've done it before, being down to 10 men, we've managed to pull a couple results out.

"It wasn't really any surprise against St Mirren, if you look at the game, I think we were probably on the ascendency, we were looking to probably go on and win it but we just didn't manage to."

United are on eight points, six more than Killie after five games.

"Dundee United are on a good run of games, they're doing well but as the last seasons have seen Rugby Park has been like a fortress for us," said Watson.

"We don't lose many games here so that's what we want to try and create again and try and make Rugby Park a Fortress again.

"The fans have been brilliant and it's through our performances that they've backed us."

Killie boss Derek McInnes has been linked with the vacant Hearts manager's job and Watson insists it is because of the “brilliant” job he is doing.

"The gaffer's been brilliant for me, he gave me my SPFL debut so I'm forever grateful for that," he added.

"He's been amazing with me, and he's been amazing with the team. You see what he's done last season, we got into Europe and we had a good go at it. Hopefully, we can do the same again this season.

"We've got a good group, our squad is much the same as last season. There's a few boys that have come in, they’ve really added to the squad."

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Former Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell is not surprised Rugby Park manager Derek McInnes is being linked to the vacant managerial position at Hearts.

The 53-year-old guided his side to a fourth-placed finish last season, securing European football for the first time in five years.

"He's done a brilliant job since he's come in," Bell told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"They've not hit the ground running in the league, but they've got a good squad there.

"I expect him to stay at Kilmarnock, but there's no surprise for me that a manager of the calibre of Derek McInnes is getting linked to Hearts.

"Hopefully, certainly for my sake, he does stay at Kilmarnock and continues the journey he's going on.

"But they need a result as well. They're desperate on getting a league result and getting three points on the board to kickstart the season."

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• Kilmarnock have won both of their last two Scottish Premiership games against Dundee United, last winning three in a row against the Tangerines in the top flight in February 2002 under Bobby Williamson.

• Dundee United have only won once in their last nine Scottish Premiership away games against Kilmarnock (D3 L5), a 4-2 win in May 2016 under Gordon Young’s caretaker management.

• Kilmarnock are unbeaten in nine home Scottish Premiership games against newly-promoted opponents (W5 D4) since a 0-3 defeat to Hibernian in October 2017.

• Along with Hearts, Kilmarnock are one of two sides who remain winless in this season’s Scottish Premiership (P5 W0 D2 L3) - Killie last failed to win their opening six matches of a top-flight campaign in 2017-18 (eight).

• After their 1-0 win at Hearts earlier this month, Dundee United could win back-to-back Scottish Premiership away games for the first time since August 2020.

Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes feels "validated" after discussing his concerns around officiating in the 2-2 draw against St Mirren with Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum.

Killie had Joe Wright sent off in Paisley but McInnes was perturbed after St Mirren's Shaun Rooney escaped punishment for clashing with Kyle Vassell.

"We felt really let down on some of the decisions," said McInnes. "That has now been validated by the referee department. It was validated by a phone call that I had with Willie Collum on the Monday after the game.

"I thought it was a real low for the refereeing department, that performance."

And he added: "I feel I've always had a good line of communication with Willie when he was a referee, as a player or a manager.

"I'm not here to praise the referee department, Willie in particular, because they're being transparent. I think it's the way it should be and I'm glad that he sees it that way.

"I do think he's a guy who will make change and get things right over time and I think he'll implement a standard that's needed.

"I think we've got some really good referees and good officials in the country but we've also got a few who need some work.

"And for me it's quite galling the fact that the St Mirren player involved plays next week and Joe gets a three-game ban."

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Derek McInnes is determined to make sure Kilmarnock remain "relevant" after missing out on this season's League Cup quarter-finals.

The Ayrshire team were put out of the competition by Motherwell back in August and, as a result, had the weekend off.

When asked if he enjoyed a break from the action, McInnes replied: "I hated it."

The Rugby Park boss has been linked with the vacancy at Hearts, but he insists he is "fully" committed to bring more success to Kilmarnock.

"I just want us to be relevant," he added. "I want us to be in semi-finals and finals of cups, top six, playing in Europe. Saturday was a wee reminder we weren't there.

"I think when there are international breaks there’s a general feeling it's a chance to get some needed downtime.

"But when other teams are playing and we're just skulking about... I hated it."

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes addressed the media before Saturday's Scottish Premiership home match against Dundee United.

Here are his key points:

• The Killie boss "hated" having a free weekend as the Scottish League Cup quarter-finals took place. "I just want us to be relevant," he explained. "I want us to be in the semi-finals and finals of cups and top six and playing in Europe. Saturday was a wee reminder that we weren't there this time around."

• McInnes has challenged his players to be a top-six team before the end of the first round of games.

• The Rugby Park boss contacted Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum over his frustrations about how the 2-2 draw with St Mirren was handled and and feels "validated" after feeling "so let down" on the day.

• After speaking to sacked Hearts head coach Steven Naismith and recently dismissed St Johnstone manager Craig Levein, McInnes believes the latter can feel "hard done by" while Naismith "might have got a wee bit more grace". McInnes described both departures as "particularly harsh".

• And McInnes does not regard being linked with the Hearts vacancy as a compliment and insists his focus remains on Kilmarnock.

• Liam Donnelly will be back in full training this week while Brad Lyons returns from suspension to be available against Dundee United. Banned Joe Wright and injured Kyle Magennis miss out.

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Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes "would be fantastic" for the vacant managerial position at Hearts, says former Tynecastle striker Lee Miller.

Steven Naismith was relieved of his duties as head coach after a woeful eight-game losing run, which leaves the club bottom of the Premiership.

Since being appointed Rugby Park boss, McInnes has led Killie back to the top flight and secured a fourth-placed finish last term.

His side, however, are also yet to win a league game this season and sit just a place and a point above Hearts.

"I think McInnes would be fantastic," Miller told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"They would obviously need to pay money to get him out there, but he's done a tremendous job everywhere he's been. He's turned into a real force in Scottish football.

"Yeah, Kilmarnock have not had a great start to the season, but he understands how the game works in Scotland and I think he's been very good.

"He's very good at recruiting, but the thing is he would have a really good squad to work with at Hearts if he went there."

Naismith was dismissed by Hearts following the 2-1 defeat at St Mirren on Saturday.

The former Scotland striker vowed to fight on at the club, but ex-Falkirk manager Miller suggests he knew what was coming.

"Having been a manager myself, I know how it feels," Miller added.

"Everything just gets on top of you. Everything kind of builds up. You lose your focus slightly and there's just so much pressure.

"Whether they were right or wrong, I think the pressure was building through the fans and through the lack of the results this season having not won a game."

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

It's a long boring weekend when Killie are not in action and I refuse to trek about overpriced furniture stores searching for a flatpack wardrobe with three parts missing.

However, I think it's the first weekend where we haven't seen a red card and we also have a winnable home game to look forward to this Saturday.

One interesting development over the weekend was the sacking of former Killie star Steven Naismith as Hearts boss. Almost as soon as it was announced the pundits were touting Derek McInnes as his replacement.

McInnes has brought much-needed stability to the club and he appears to enjoy having control over all football matters. That would not necessarily be the case at Tynecastle. Having turned down Rangers in the past, it is clear that McInnes doesn't just jump ship for a few extra bucks.

It's flattering when your manager is linked with other jobs but I don't see Delboy moving to any other Scottish club and I hope he stays at Killie to continue his good work.

Dundee United have had a decent start to the season but if Killie can repeat the level of performance shown in Paisley and keep 11 players on the park I fancy it could be our first league win.

Sandy Armour is editor of the Killie Hippo fanzine.

Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes is a potential candidate to replace Philippe Clement, who is one defeat away from being sacked as Rangers manager, but the Ibrox club's priority is to resolve their boardroom battle and a lack of money that limited their summer transfer spending. (Football Insider), external

Former Sunderland and Stoke City manager Alex Neil is the early bookmakers' favourite to become Heart of Midlothian head coach, while Kilmarnock's Derek McInnes and St Mirren's Stephen Robinson are also among the contenders. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Earlier, we asked you who has made the most league appearances for Kilmarnock.

The correct answer is Alan Robertson - the left-back played 481 league games from 1972-1988 for the Rugby Park side.

Who has made the most league appearances for Kilmarnock?

Answer will be revealed at 17:00 BST

Dundee, Hibernian, Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Ross County, St Johnstone and St Mirren will each take in £1.6m in solidarity payments due to Celtic's Champions League qualification, with Aberdeen and Dundee United receiving £1m and £650,000 going to Hearts and Livingston. (Mail), external

Read Friday's Scottish gossip

The benefit of having the international break was there for all to see at Paisley as Killie put in an excellent display that would have earned us three points on any other day.

The fact we only left with one point was once again down to substandard officiating. It really is a recurring theme.

VAR was introduced to assist our officials and improve their decision-making. Any amount of technology can be implemented but if the officials using it are incompetent then their mistakes are going to be compounded.

The referee bottled a red card for Mikael Mandron while VAR chose to ignore Shaun Rooney assaulting Kyle Vassell.

Killie were the better team throughout even though we had to play the second half with 10 men following Joe Wright's second dismissal in seven games.

Corrie Ndaba was outstanding and having Wright missing for a few weeks is no bad thing. We have another free weekend now but I expect us to start climbing the table when the action starts again.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

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Marley Watkins insists Killie can secure a top-six Premiership finish this season despite their slow start to the league campaign.

Derek McInnes' side came from behind twice to snatch a 2-2 draw with St Mirren at the weekend to move off the bottom of the table, and Watkins - who scored Killie's first equaliser - thinks the result can spark some momentum.

"It's a good point in the end but we need to build on it and make sure we get our first win in the next league game," he said.

"We were the better team in the second half, even with 10 men. They're a quality team, I’ve got a lot of respect for St Mirren.

"It's always a battle. It's a good point under the circumstances, so we've just got to take it into the next game.

"At our best, we should get top six. Every week, we’ve got to make sure we keep our standards high and start climbing."

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

In a hectic game in Paisley where St Mirren and Kilmarnock drew 2-2, Corrie Ndaba stood out for the visitors both at the back and going forward.

It's understandable why Derek McInnes wanted the full-back on a permanent deal after his impressive loan stint last season.

We asked for your views on Kilmarnock 2-2 draw against St Mirren.

Here's what some of you said:

David: With what happened during the game and having seen the TV footage a 2-2 draw was fair. However, it was a much improved performance up to the sending off and the second half. Killie were the only team in the game. Stop the red cards, improve discipline, and we'll do well this season. Excellent turn out by our fans!

James: The VAR was ridiculous. They managed to see the handball for the penalty and the Joe Wright incident but did nothing when Mikael Mandron and Shaun Rooney committed glaring fouls. The team played as well as they have all season and we'll start picking up points soon.

Martin: Best Kilmarnock performance of the season. Only one team wanted to play football against a team of hammer-throwers. Ref and VAR need dropped and fined, but what a team, proud of how we kept on going and got the vital point. Could and should have been more. Corrie Ndaba was superb.

Anna: Absolute garbage. Why the hell, when we were chasing the win, did Derek McInnes not make any substitutions until the 85th minute? Had he done so earlier like after the sending off we might have had a chance of a win.

Jim: Let's stop looking through blue and white glasses. This is a poor team. The goalkeeper is static in goal. The defence panic when under pressure. The two up front are extremely poor. The goals they have scored are deflections and not clear-cut goals. We seem to thrive in getting fouls instead of playing football to create chances.

Stephen: Not great from both sides, the red card for Wright was a wrong decision and if you compare the decision making regarding the penalty, just look at the penalty disallowed between Celtic and Hearts. Penalty decisions were an absolute joke.

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• Kilmarnock have won two points from losing positions in the Premiership this season - only Dundee have recovered more.

• Meanwhile St Mirren have lost four points from winning positions in the Premiership this season - no team has lost more.

• Liam Polworth attempted 55 passes in this game, the highest total for a Kilmarnock player in the Premiership this season.

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Marley Watkins says Kilmarnock need to "sort it out" when it comes to their disciplinary record this season if they are to climb up the Premiership table.

Watkins scored Killie's first equaliser as they twice came from behind to secure a hard-earned 2-2 draw at St Mirren.

Joe Wright was sent off for a clash with Shaun Rooney just before the break, his second red card of the season and Killie's fourth of the campaign.

"It's uncharacteristic of us to have that many, but we've got to sort it out," Watkins told BBC Scotland.

"We had 10 men for the majority of the game and I'm so proud of the boys for digging in. Buzzing we got Joe out of trouble.

"I think we can be proud of the point under the circumstances. Obviously we came here to win but things happen in football games and we'll take the point

"It shows our character from last season and we've brought it into this season, and now I think we need to win the next game to make it a good point."