If it came out of Killie boss Jim Jefferies mouth then you'll find it here (if it was picked up by the press.  Dates shown are dates reported)......

May 21st on the Pars Pre Match... "I'm delighted. We had a wee chat with the players as we were going into the last five games, our target was to finish seventh because it was important to the club.  It was also important to them that they showed they have got improvement in them and they have done that. We couldn't ask for a better way to finish the season in front our fans and we sent them home happy looking forward to next season. We're a young side and we've got the potential to improve."  Match Report

May 20th On Boyd's Situation..."He won't be moving for that offer (from Aberdeen) it would be a good down-payment, but it would have to be a lot more before we would be interested in selling him. Kris Boyd has a year left of his contract and I told him we want to talk to him about extending it and he said he would like to hear what we've got to say. He's in the last year of his contract and - like any player at any club - if a decent offer came in, we would have to consider it. Thursday's offer wasn't what we term as a decent one for him so we rejected it outright. What's the point in selling your top goalscorer for that amount of money? We would lose a lot more if we had to play without him and we struggled. He is young and still under the compensation situation here even if he moved on in a year's time, so we are in a strong position. Kris will tell you himself he has a lot to learn. He likes working with us and there's a great spirit here and he's part of it. He might look to try to improve and then, maybe, one day go and play in England."
On Freddie Dindeleux after telling club chiefs he wants to explore the opportunity of ending his career in France or Belgium. He's delighted we've made an offer and we want to keep him, but we have to work to a strict business plan. I've kept it open and told him there's time yet. He understands that and only time will tell."

May 16th on Naismith & Next Term...'Steven deserved his man of the match award and can have a bright future.'We asked him to play on the right hand side and he did well - especially when we pushed him further forward in the second half. We've got a few youngsters coming through here. Rhian Dodds came on and was excellent for us in midfield. We're on our longest unbeaten run for a while and there's a real possibility of beating Inverness to seventh. 'We've done really well since the split. We've renewed contracts for next season with a lot of the players. If I'd just bought like for like it would have spoiled what we have here.There's a real spirit about them which has been forged over the last few years. If they take on board what's happened this season I'm sure you'll see a much better Kilmarnock team next season. 'I think we might surprise a few people.'

May 14th on the Livi Post Match... "I have to admit the first half wasn't the best and maybe they were looking to come here and get an early goal and sit on it. We said at half-time we could do better and in the second half we did and I thought did enough to deserve the win.  We got the passing going and when Livi changed their tactics I put wee Stevie Murray on and he did well. We controlled the game from that point. That's five games undefeated for us and we've shown what this set of players can do and there's no point in me bringing in new players if they're not better than the ones I have already. That could also ruin what we have here, which is a great togetherness from being together for a couple of years. If we can take the form we've shown in the last five or six games into next season and learn from the situations we've faced this year we can do well." Match Report

May 13th On Player Contracts..."We have spoken to everyone and we are hopeful of having them tied up by the middle of next week, the end of the week at the latest. We got three of the players tied up earlier in the week and had another couple in on Friday. The signs are that virtually all of them have agreed to re-sign. We don't really have the resources to bring new players in and there's no point in letting players go just for the sake of bringing new ones in. There is a good spirit and a good bond between the players we have and you take the chance that a new player might come in and not settle. I think the squad we have has the potential to get better."
On the Livi Pre Match... "Thankfully we aren't involved in the relegation battle personally but we're involved in terms of playing the teams who are."We have our own agenda, we want to finish seventh, and that means no-one can accuse us of lying down to anyone or helping clubs who are in trouble."

May 8th More on the Arabs Post Match... "We came away from Tannadice with a point, we're unbeaten four games on the trot and we went level with Inverness so it turned out to be a good day for us. We're a young team but there's the potential for them to get better, contrary to what some people think. We were bookies favourites to toil this season but we've always been around the middle of the table. We'll get better by coming through days like these and we will benefit next season. This was a difficult fixture. United needed the win, they were at home, their confidence was up, they are through to the Scottish Cup final and there is more dig and bounce about them so it turned out to be a valuable point in more ways than one. It proves that we've taken on board some lessons and if we did that half a dozen times more we would be sitting in the top half of the table. However, that's what you get when the bulk of your side is young but they'll get better, there's no doubt like that."

May 7th on the Arabs Post Match...  "You can't have it (video evidence) for a lot of things but you can have it for matters of fact, such as 'was it over the line or not? How could a linesman from that far away tell if it was in? It hit the far post, so he had the near post in front of him and there were bodies as well."I thought Mike McCurry might have been in a better position than the linesman. I thought young Naismith got caught on the wrong side of Robson, but he stumbled before he was tackled which is why the referee might have not given it. (a penalty to the Arabs) But, overall, given the balance of play, a draw was a fair result." Match Report

May 5th on Boyd For Sale Speculation... "Kris is the same as any other player at Kilmarnock and 90% of other clubs, if somebody comes in with a good offer it would have to come under consideration. If the offer is not good enough then he stays here.bBut we're not looking to sell him, we are looking to extend it and he says he will be happy to sit down and listen to what we have to say."  - More
On freeing Dargo & McGregor..."It's always a difficult time when you have to advise players that they are no longer part of your plans,"
On Contracts to the Players..."In the past, the club would usually increase their opening offer but that won't happen now because you can't pay what you have not got. We are being honest and we won't shaft the players but it has to be take it or leave it. The majority of those out of contract will be offered new deals and they will be at the higher end of what we can afford, we won't offer less than what we can afford. We will offer them as much as we can but if it's unacceptable then so be it. It's a free market now with the Bosman ruling and they can leave if they are not satisfied."

Apr 30th (Billy Brown) on the Caley Post Match...'It wasn't a good one to watch. It was a hard-fought victory and we rode our luck but we showed grit. If we had done that more often in games we've lost this season we would have been higher in the table. But it's a good victory as not many teams win up here. I didn't think either were penalties but, if he has given the first one for pulling of the jersey, then he has to give the second one for pulling the jersey.  I didn't see any of that and, in every penalty box in every game of football all over the world, people are pushing and pulling at corners. But, if you give one, I suppose you have to give another and I suppose he is being consistent. We are looking for consistency in referees. Gary McDonald was judged to have pulled Darren Dods for their penalty but I don't know who pulled who for our one. I didn't even know he had pointed to the spot for either of them."  Match Report

Apr 28th on Dargo's Injuries... "He has had a bad time with injury. A couple of weeks ago he was earmarked to play against Inverness in the game we lost 1-0 but pulled a thigh muscle in training. He was out for the Motherwell game after that as well but came back for the reserves when we weren't expecting it.  He played 45 minutes of that game and then came on to give us the break we needed against Dundee. It has been frustrating for him as well as the club as he had been out before for a good lengthy spell with an ankle injury. There are a few players who are out of contract and we will have to address that situation in the next couple of weeks."

Apr 23rd on the Dee Post Match... "I did'nt think we'd just about deserved it - as someone just said to me - I thought we totally deserved it. For long spells it was one-way traffic.  Kilmarnock were totally dominant for the whole of the match. We passed the ball well, our whole attitude was good and we never got frustrated.  When you get games like that you've got to get a break. We were trying to do the right thing and when we put on some fresh legs we got that break at last.  I have got to praise Dundee in terms of defending. Their back four made it difficult but we just kept plugging away."   Match Report

Apr 22nd on the Dee Pre Match...'You can bet that they will be desperate for a win so if we switch off and don't give our all then we could be trouble because they have so much to play for. You hear talk of these games being cup finals for the four teams at the bottom and that is true. Every game will be a battle and we had a talk about this. The players know that if their attitude and commitment doesn't match their opponents then it won't be good enough. We have a lot to play for. We still want to finish as high up that league as possible and to do that we need to win games and match the likes of Dundee in terms of determination. It's not going to be pretty to watch, as is the case in relegation matches, but the players realise what they need to do. If they play like that in these last five games then we won't have much to complain about. The players deserved a win last week and only a bad break at the end denied them of a result they deserved
Dundee will feel that last week's results dragged them into it again so they are fighting for their lives. I've told the players they are now competing against teams who are involved in a relegation battle and if they don't compete they will be turned over. These games won't be pretty. We try to endeavour to play nice football but we will have to roll the sleeves up and match the teams who are fighting for their lives. We have to match their determination and fight for every point before we can even think about winning games."

Apr 16th on the Well Post Match...    "I think it was obvious to anyone that it was a foul on Alan. Also, I'm not sure you're allowed to go through a gate to get a run-up before you take a throw-in. That's what happened first, and then when it came in Alan (Combe) came for it and his path was blocked off. It's cost us a couple of points we felt we deserved. We were very good, on a pitch that wasn't conducive to playing good football. "We looked at the stats and saw that we have done better against the teams at the top than those below us, so maybe we needed to dig in a bit. Sometimes you can't always try to play silky football and we thought this would be a day and I'm delighted with what the players produced. If we keep playing like that, for the rest of the season we'll finish seventh and that's the aim. The defence were excellent - Alan hardly had a save to make - and the midfield competed well, but I thought Gary (Wales) had his best game for Kilmarnock.He was all over the pitch and was a real pest to their defence. Peter Leven's free-kick was also a treat and he could've had another if it hadn't got a wee deflection." Match Report

Apr 15th on Players Contracts... "I had a meeting with the players this week and I laid it on the line to them - we want to finish seventh this season. There's about eight or nine players here wondering what will happen to them so I said to them, Show me that you are working on remaining here.  I'm not going to dive into anything with regards new contracts, I've got an open mind about it."

Apr 12th on Remaining Goals For the Season... "Even if we had beaten Caley Thistle, it was still in Motherwell's hands and, as I said the other week, they just need a few points, I don't think we played as well as we have done in the last few games. But we want to improve on last season's position of tenth and, with six games to go, hopefully we can. It will be a satisfactory season if we finish seventh and that is our target now, But it was a disappointing result. It's coming to the end of the season and a lot of the young lads looked a bit heavy-legged. But, in saying that, we had four good chances to win the game. Gary McDonald had two and Gary Wales had two and if he had showed some composure with his second-half header then we would have got the point. It could have been 2-2 in the first 20 minutes, but Inverness got the goal and then defended it well."

Apr 9th on the Caley Post Match..."It will be a satisfactory season if we finish seventh and that is our target now. We finished 10th last season and so we want to improve on that. And with six games to go that is what we will be trying to do.  But it was a disappointing result. It's coming to the end of the season and a lot of the young lads looked a bit heavy-legged. But in saying that we had four good chances to win the game. Gary McDonald had two and Gary Wales had two and if he had showed some composure with his second-half header then we would have got the point. It could have been 2-2 in the first 20 minutes but Inverness got the goal and then defended it well." Match Report

Apr 8th on Killie's Progress this Season... "We were a lot of people's favourites to struggle this year given that we have not had the resources to bring in the type of player we had in the past and have introduced a lot of younger boys. Over the season they have been the bulk of the team and, as other teams have proved in the past, you get a lot of inconsistency with that. But we have always been hanging on with a chance of getting into the top half. We never got dragged into the relegation fight. If we just miss out then so be it but if we finish seventh it will be three places higher than last year. We will have improved with the youngest squad we have had for a few years. Aberdeen a few years ago put in youngsters and let their bigger earners go and Motherwell went into administration and cleared out a lot of experienced players on bigger wages. Both of these teams finished bottom of the league and were saved by the First Division champions not being allowed to be promoted. Kilmarnock have never been in that position - and our young boys will be the wiser for their experiences this season. Motherwell and Aberdeen stuck with theirs and look where they are now. Aberdeen's players are two or three years down the road now and are reaping the benefits of that. So are Motherwell's because they have been in the top half for most of the season and been in a cup final. Hopefully we can get to that stage."
Apr 8th on Boyd's progress... "He is far from the finished article and he knows that but he has been scoring goals for us this year."

Apr 3rd on a "top 6" Finish..."Mathematically it's still possible so we are not totally out of it yet. We just have to try to win next week and hope that Motherwell slip up at some point."

Apr 2nd on the Dee Post Match... "I'm sure that Dundee would agree that we didn't deserve to lose that game and that we were the better side. They were hard conditions to play in and the ball was bobbling about all over the shop but I thought we did better out there than them. They didn't cause us too many problems and I'm not saying we overworked their goalkeeper either but I thought we shaded it. I would like to see the penalty again because I thought it looked soft but the referee was quick to give it. The team worked hard and I've got no complaints about that but we just didn't get the breaks today."  Match Report

Apr 1st on the Dee Pre Match... 'Jim Duffy's side are fighting for their lives. My lads are trying to make sure we're in the top six so we can enjoy the kind of close to the season we had two years ago. We played Celtic at Rugby Park on the last day of the season and the place was bursting at the seams.The atmosphere was incredible as they played us while wondering what was happening between Rangers and Dunfermline at Ibrox. Who wouldn't want that kind of drama again?'

Mar 31st on being Considered For the Open Arabs Manager Position... "It's pure speculation. As far as I'm concerned there is nothing in it. What I'm going to do is concentrate on Kilmarnock trying to win on Saturday. We started out this season looking for a top six place and to do that we'll have to face a really difficult fixture at Dundee who have also been a bit inconsistent this year. But certainly over the last couple of games they have equipped themselves well and it's not an easy place to go to. That's all we're concentrating on. It's been a tough job here and we've put a lot into it to try to see it through. We've still got another year of the business plan to go and our concentration is on getting through this transitional period and at the same time to be as successful as we can and try to make the top six. We've got a lot of young players who will certainly improve over the next few seasons so things aren't looking too bad. If we win on Saturday and go on to meet our top six target then it will be a satisfying season, particularly when a lot of people tipped us to be the ones who would be struggling against relegation. Sometimes it can be frustrating but I'm experienced enough to know that would be the case this year. We knew the consistency was going to be a problem but we've got a lot of young players who are terrific for the the future and they are improving - people like Gary McDonald, Kris Boyd, Steven Naismith and Peter Leven. I'm here at Kilmarnock and I've got no thoughts about doing anything else because there is nothing else to consider."

Mar 27th on the Top 6 Run In... "£60,000 may not sound like an awful lot in football terms. Especially when you see the amount of money some players are on at the bigger clubs. That might only be enough to pay the wage of a top player for a couple of weeks but at clubs like Kilmarnock, Motherwell or Inverness that could be the difference between us being able to buy or keep one player for a whole season.  At this level, the difference between a player signing for you or one of your rivals could be £100 a week, so the higher you finish in the league the better placed the clubs are to offer that little extra incentive. I know it won’t make much difference to my budget for next season because we are working to a three-year plan but it would help us break even and may make it easier for us to kick on from there the following season. From a professional point of view, and no disrespect intended to other clubs, every player wants to be playing against Celtic and Rangers, Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen. They are big clubs with big fan-bases. They are the games players want to test themselves in but, from the club’s point of view, they are also the games that will attract the bigger crowds. Especially this season because everyone still has so much to play for. Look at what happened when we finished fourth and Celtic came to play us on the last day of the season two years ago. They were still fighting for the league title and Rugby Park was bursting at the seams. That was a fantastic game for the players to be involved in and it was fantastic revenue for the club. With the league looking like it could come down to the final few games again this season then Rangers are likely to bring a big support. Even looking at Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen, they are all still vying for the European place so, whoever we get at home, when the fixtures are drawn up, they will probably bring a lot of supporters with them as well. The good thing is we all have a say in what happens, it’s not all in the hands of other clubs. Motherwell obviously go into these last few games as favourites because they have the most points and they have a game in hand over us but that game is against Inverness and it would be great for us if Inverness could win that one as it would leave the thing wide open. The most important thing for us is that we still have a chance when we go into the final game before the split, which is against Motherwell. If we are even two points behind them at that stage, I’ll be satisfied because then we can decide our own fate."

Mar 11th on the Arabs Post Match... "We get criticised a lot but I think we've had a better season than most people think. Aberdeen and Motherwell went with kids a little while ago and ended up at the bottom of the league but Kilmarnock haven't done that. We had a midfield of youngsters today and a couple of young strikers too and they all did very well. I thought Gary MacDonald was outstanding in midfield.  He only played 10 games last season but has now worked his way into the time and it just shows what can happen if you work with young players. He won't always play well or always do exactly the right thing because he's young but he's come on leaps and bounds. It is difficult when you go to the likes of Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Hibs with a young team but these boys have done well this season and they will be even better next year. Even (Aberdeen manager) Jimmy Calderwood said if we had scored that penalty we could have gone on to win that game. Today the reverse happened. That was a wee break and after we got the second you could see the confidence come back. It was a great save from Graeme and it helped us win this game, which keeps us in with a chance of getting in the top six, which would obviously help the finances for next season. If we get into it we can probably keep one or two here and maybe even get a couple of players in. If we don't then we'll work with what we've got."  Match Report

Mar 12th on the Arabs Pre Match... 'This is a young team and I always said it wasn't going to be weeks or months before you saw the best of them. This is the first full season for a lot of the players and it was always going to be tough. A lot of people thought we'd really struggle because of everything we've had to put up with down here, but you can see they've made progress.  We have four games until the split and if we win them then there is every chance we'll finish in the top six. The players have made mistakes but they've learned from them and become a better team for it as well. This is a tough league and it has been a stiff learning curve for them but I've been pleased with a lot of things they have done. I would rather finish the season playing against the Old Firm. It would also bring in more money at Rugby Park. There is still a lot to aim for. We have four massive games ahead of us. We have not given up in any way. It is going to be hard but we have still got a chance. Our last game in the section is against Motherwell and now would be a great time to win four matches on the trot - which we have done before.  Ian must be finding it frustrating and if you look at the quality of the players there it is surprising. They are capable of beating anyone on their day as they have shown in the cups but in the league they have been inconsistent, like a lot of teams. They are fighting for their lives. You can have as many quality players as you like, but you have still got to go out there and do it.  We have been inconsistent as well but have managed to be in mid-table all season and challenge for a place in the top half. This year, teams have shown they are capable of losing two or three games or winning two or three games. We have all done it."

Mar 5th on the Dons Post Match...  "We did well in the first half and, had we scored from the penalty, it would have been a great time to go in at 1-0. But the miss gave them a great lift and, in the second half, they were the better team and we couldn't get on the ball. But I couldn't point the finger at Boydy because he looked to have put in the corner and the keeper guessed right quickly and made the save."   Match Report

Mar 4th on the Dons Pre Match... "We are only three points behind and we need to be in a position where we can take advantage by winning. We have got to want it badly. The next two games are at home to Aberdeen and Dundee United and obviously it is vital we pick up all six points. We've been inconsistent, away from home especially, and although you have to expect that with a young squad it does drive me daft at times. Wednesday night was a perfect example. For 25 minutes we played great passing football and caused Livingston all sorts of problems but then we got in front and suddenly stopped doing all the things we'd done to get into that position. Sloppy  We started hitting long balls and were sloppy enough to let Livingston equalise. They got a massive lift from that and went on to win the game. But we had a long chat with the players on Thursday and I believe we will get the right response. We've a decent record at home and I want that to continue against Aberdeen, who will come here on a high after showing their resilience by beating Dundee United in midweek. The only positive from midweek was that Motherwell might have moved another three points away from us. The fact that they drew means we can still catch them. That has to be our aim. Three of the next four games are at home and the away tie is against Dundee, so we need to get on a run to make sure we are in a position to make the last game before the split matter. We go to Motherwell that day and if we are within three points of them it will be a terrific clash. It's up to us to make sure we are.'
On goalkeeper Alan Combe ...."He has done terrific for us this season, He has saved us more than he has cost us, that's for sure. In fact, he has hardly cost us at all. "I was delighted to see our former goalkeeper Gordon Marshall reach the CIS Cup final with Motherwell and he is still playing at 40. Alan is 30 now and that is the perfect age for a goalkeeper as goalies have a longer lifespan. He has matured now and works hard in training. And in terms of consistency, he has been the most consistent of our players."

Mar 2nd on the Livy Post Match...  "We started the game very well and I thought we were the better team for he first 15 to 20 minutes. But after we scored we stopped passing the ball and we tried all the hard things. That gave Livingston hope. We became sloppy and the goal we lost was shocking." Match Report

Mar 1st on the Livy Pre Match... "It's always disappointing to lose any game, but to go to Rangers and show that attitude and workrate with an inexperienced team was great. Now we have to carry all those things into the game at Livingston on Wednesday night. Had we been beaten 5-0 then I would have had a task trying to pick them up off the floor, But we did well and the players will go there full of confidence of winning the game."

Feb 28th on Combe Getting a Scotland Call...: "Alan made some great saves, especially when we went with four up front late on to try and snatch something at 2-1. But, to be fair, he has been doing that all season for us. He is a terrific goalie. If there are any vacancies Scotland-wise, and Walter was at Ibrox, then he is someone in very good form right now".
Feb 28th more on the Ibrox Post Match...
We said to them at half-time that it was crucial not to lose any more, and we had to get the third goal of the game,They kept their heads up after losing two goals in the first half. If you concede a third at Ibrox the floodgates can open, so it was great to see that spirit. You can sense the crowd getting a wee bit nervy at 2-1, but we never really got at them late on. We started out 3-4-3 as Rangers had used their full-backs well against Celtic and I felt we were coping well enough We had five corners before they had one and, although Rangers had a lot of possession, I could see the game-plan to frustrate them was working. The first goal from Prso was a great one from a Rangers fan's point of view. The lad hit a great strike, but our centre half didn't close him down quickly enough. The second goal was a gift for Novo. I felt, apart from that, that his pace was well tied up with James Fowler outstanding in the back three. It's always disappointing to lose any game, but to go to Rangers and show that attitude and workrate with an inexperienced team was great. Now we have to carry all those things into the game at Livingston on Wednesday night."

Feb 26h on the Gers Post Match... "I think we deserve credit. We had a game plan where we knew Rangers would get plenty of possession. In the first 20 minutes we had five corners to their nil, which shows we were breaking and getting balls into the box. Rangers didn't cut us up that much, particularly in the first half. We obviously gifted them the second goal and for the first, although it was a great finish from the spectators' point of view, the central defender didn't close him down quick enough."  Match Report

Feb 25th on Locke & Dindeleaux Returning for the Trip to Ibrox..."Locke and defender Freddie Dindeleux back into the squad following injury but the pair are short on match fitness. The  trouble is they have not had games for weeks so we will probably have more experience on the bench than in the last game because we have had to call in a few of the younger lads. You would imagine going to Ibrox, with the work you have to put in there, you would need your subs so at least we have a bit of experience on the bench.
On Defender Simon Ford ... "We don't know yet. Maybe rest will do it. We will have it scanned and if it is still the same at the end of the season we will a look at it further."

On Allan Johnston..."He is doing well now. He was out of the side when I gave him a wee break when things weren't going his way. I brought him back in and he has done well in the last couple of games. He is taking the ball for us, making things happen and finding a bit of form.  We are going to go there to give a really good account of ourselves."

Feb 23rd on Having to Go to Ibrox Next..."We are annoyed because we feel the decision (play this SPL game this coming Sat) has been made to suit Rangers, We are disappointed because when games are cancelled and not rescheduled it normally goes down to the first available date after the original game was scheduled.  It's frustrating because we have six or seven guys out injured who have no chance of making that game and when you play Rangers you have to go in with your strongest team to have any chance.  We don't feel we're in that position. You can understand why they wanted to bring the game forward, They are top of the league and are on a good run and want to open up a gap on Celtic at the top."

JJ talks (download voice) about having to go to Ibrox next Here

Feb 25th on Kris Boyd's Contract...."Boydy has another year on top of this and is one we plan to talk to in the next couple of weeks. He has plenty of time - he is only 21. He will have to make that decision and it also depends on how well he is guided because young players have agents. They might decide that maybe there is a pay day around the corner for them to try to convince him to go. But if he doesn't extend it he will still be young enough for us to get a fee for him. We would like to keep him so hopefully we can extend his contract. I have never had any offers for him. Aberdeen made an enquiry at the start of the season but never made an offer. Jimmy (Calderwood) asked if he was still in our plans and we said "of course he is". I think it was a little bit tongue in cheek.  You can't blame Jimmy for asking but when he found out what we were looking for it was way out of his price range. The other one to ask us if he was available was Boston United. I think someone had tipped them off that he was doing well and scoring goals. Whether Wolves remain interested is unclear as Dave Jones has since been replaced as manager by Glenn Hoddle. He went down for a week last year and they said they would keep an eye on him. The trouble with they have changed their manager.  They asked for him back again midway through the season and I wouldn't let him go because it had definitely unsettled him for a few weeks. I think letting people go down for a second week is nonsense anyway. They had seen what he was made of and could watch him in games. If they were interested they should have made a move for him. We aim to sit down and talk with Kris in the next few weeks and hopefully he wants to stay at Kilmarnock"

Feb 19th on the Pars Post Match... "It was nice to bounce to back. We have a young side and had a lot of injury problems but we battled for everything.  It is not about lack of confidence, the lads were just disappointed after Wednesday's game and knew they had to bounce back. It was important that we won today. We have had a hard run of games - Hibs, Celtic and Hearts three times - with a young team. It has been a learning curve for them and they look a far better team now." On the Leven Booking.... "If Peter had gone down earlier, then maybe it could have been a penalty. He took a step past and then lost the ball and, maybe, if he had stayed on his feet he could have finished it. It's a hard one to call but I'm just glad we fought back for the three points today."
On 18 Year Old Naismith... "Steven never lets mistakes get to him, He is also getting stronger all the time and is proving to be a real handful for defenders."   Match Report

Feb 18th on the Pars Pre Match...  "I don't think any of our injured players will be back, added to the fact that a couple of others are also struggling. As a result Kilmarnock will field the youngest side ever in a Premier League game. On the bench we will also have three youngsters who have never been involved with the first team before. I just hope the supporters appreciate that there's a few inexperienced boys and really get behind them. It's a great opportunity for them and hopefully the young lads can show they're capable of winning the game. The door is open and I'm hoping they will show me that they're worthy of consideration every week. When you have a decent sized squad you can handle injuries a bit better but we've had to cut down numbers here in the past few years. The fact that we are missing so many experienced players doesn't help either. They had a lot of injuries but beat us comfortably so hopefully we can emulate that.  This is a huge came for us in terms of achieving a top-six finish as we are just two points behind Motherwell. While the situation is not ideal I'm sure the lads will give their all towards the cause. I know how much the Killie fans enjoying seeing youngsters coming through so with their backing hopefully we can get the right result.'

Feb 16th on Hearts Cup Post Match... "I am disappointed but I can have no complaints. We had a terrible start to the game and lost two goals in just over 10 minutes and you can't afford to do that against a team of the calibre of Hearts. I am disappointed with their first goal because their player was allowed to run 50 or 60 yards and we never tracked back. And I am not sure their player knew too much about the second goal because it seemed to just come off his head. I couldn't fault my players for effort but there's no complaints about the result."  Match Report

Feb 16h More on Hearts Cup Pre Match... "We had a fantastic support at the first game and it was probably one of the reasons we got a result. They kept driving us on and got behind the team from the first minute until the last and we repaid them with a late goal so I wouldn't want to see it spoiled. We've got Hearts at home and the game is on television but I'm saying to the fans don't sit in the house, come out and get behind the team. Lets see if we can get that drive and enthusiasm off the park transferred onto the park because it's always a better atmosphere to play in. The club took advice and we can't just make it any old price, because you've got the other team to consider in that they get half the gate, so we're using vouchers. Some would like to see it cheaper but we're governed by rules and the club have done the best we could. We did our bit the last time by subsidising the buses so hopefully the supporters will come out and support the team this time."

Feb 15th on Hearts Cup Pre Match... "Without a doubt that was the most disappointed I have been all season. I’m not saying that we played fantastically well in the first cup game [when the teams drew 2-2] but we competed and for some reason we didn’t on Saturday.  What you want is a game quickly to get it out of the system. The boys were in on Sunday, we knew they would be down and we had a wee talk with them and then we had a look at the video on Monday.  We gave Hearts far too much room to play and no matter who you play you’ll have problems if you do that but we’ll be well fired up for it this time."
On Durrant Leaving... "We probably expect it to be his last game and we wish him all the best, If he goes, it won’t be hard to understand the reasons why. He was at Ibrox at a very successful time and he enjoyed a good career at Rangers. If that’s what he wants to do then it is a fantastic opportunity."

Feb 12th on Hearts (SPL) Post Match...  "The performance wasn't good enough. We came here last week and competed but we didn't do that today.  The first goal we gave away was just a joke. We weren't alert enough to stop the free-kick and when it was played through the two central defenders were sleeping. From then on we never got into our stride, we were second best and didn't win the 50-50s. The only good thing is that it will be a different Kilmarnock on Wednesday - I can promise Hearts that. Liam had double vision and took a bad knock to his nose and his eye was virtually closed. There is no way he could have played on and he might be doubtful for Wednesday now. Freddie is just back from three weeks out injured and it's never easy to come into a game like that when your team-mates are not showing enough desire."  Match Report

Feb 11th on Playing Hearts So Often...'It is not healthy for the Scottish game. Playing a team four times a season is bad enough and fans get fed up but seven times is just incredible. Ideally we'd like to play each other twice. I'm in favour of league reconstruction by way of freshening things up and improving the current league set-up.'

Feb 11th on Colin Nish's injury... "He will be a loss, Colin Nish has done great for us. I left him out for tactical reasons against Celtic on 30 January because I wanted an extra midfield player in there and Celtic are strong in the middle of the park  But we missed him that day and brought him back in against Hearts. He got the first equaliser and the injury is a blow for him. He's somebody who was starting gradually to win people over because he puts a lot of work in and links the midfield with attack."

Feb 5th on Hearts Cup Post Match...  "I felt we were unlucky to come in 1-2 down at the break. We switched to 4-2-4 in the second half and rode our luck at times with Alan Combe keeping us in it. We are delighted however to to take it to a replay especially to thank the fans who were magnificent throughout, in getting right behind us". On Naismith..."He had about nine matches and we are experienced enough to know when to take him out and give him a break. He had two tough games against Hibs and Celtic and we thought we would use him late in this game and he came on and scored a terrific goal. He is a fantastic prospect and it has been a great week for him, firstly extending his contract and then scoring his first goal for the first team. And what a time to score it."  Match Report

Feb 4th on Hearts Cup Pre Match... "They do play a more attacking style of football. This time last year, they were solid and never gave you very much, but John is changing that a wee bit.  They are better to watch now, but time will tell if they are going to be as successful.
On Boyd's Injury...."Although it is not as bad as we first thought, he has been with the physio for most of the week so it will be a late decision."

Feb 2nd on Boyd's latest injury... 'He should only be out for a couple of days. He has twisted his knee but it's nothing too serious. He felt it at the time and he didn't want to make it any worse, which you can fully understand. He has had injuries and a cartilage operation but thankfully it is nothing to do with those and he'll be fine.'

Jan 30th on the Celtic Post Match... " "That was a bad goal to lose, The players have defended Danny. When they came in he felt he had been pushed and handled it. When you get bumped like that the reaction is to put your hand up and get up in the air.  But it definitely hit his hand and it was given, but I have just seen the late incident on the video. Wales was definitely bundled to the ground. It would have been a harsh penalty but sometimes you get them and sometimes you don't. But Sutton definitely bumped him and it was inside the box, but it wasn't given and that's what happens sometimes."   Match Report

Jan 28th on the Celtic Pre Match... "What we have done this year is competed better against both of the Old Firm teams than we maybe had in the previous couple of seasons.  We had a terrific game with Celtic in the second week of the season when we led twice.  We didn't enjoy the lead long enough and when David Lilley was sent off from the resulting free-kick we went 3-2 down. Certainly in the first half hour of that game we caused Celtic a lot of problems.  When we went to Parkhead we didn't get the rub of the green that day. Celtic had most of the play but we were very well organised, created some decent chances early on that we didn't take and we felt that a harsh penalty award went against us. That can happen but we competed well. "We were quite happy with the way a lot of the team played last week and we have been in the previous four matches to that. If they play like they have in the last five games they will give Celtic a hard game and that's all you can hope for."
"I remember back a couple of seasons ago when Celtic lost the title to Rangers the place was spilling over and Celtic were men possessed. We had little to play for other than pride but they had to score as many goals as possible.  The place was bursting at the seams and the atmosphere was unbelievable. For us it was great to be involved. Of course we want more of our supporters to come because we are playing good football. We want people to come and watch us and create an atmosphere."
On Boyd... "Remember, this lad was out injured for six games. There were no reserve fixtures so we just had to thrown him back into it. Last week he didn't do as well as he had in the previous three or four games but it is not going to happen every week for him. Being the underdogs on Sunday we will always have a chance if we go out there and make it as difficult as possible for Celtic."

Jan 27th on the Old Firm Leaving for England..."If they go there then what is going to happen to us? It would be more competitive amongst the other clubs and you wouldn't know who is going to win the league or the cup because all the rest of the teams are much the same. But what worries me is the fact that we would be cast aside. There would be features on Rangers and Celtic playing in England and features on the teams they will be playing. Everyone else would be pushed aside as if to say, 'By the way, there is a Scottish Premier League fixture list on Saturday. Celtic and Rangers are a big part of Scottish football and they help us all. I do see there are plusses and minuses on both sides and from their point of view they would have more money. But from everyone else's point of view it would be such a bad thing not to have Rangers and Celtic playing against them. For players to go in against them at Parkhead and Ibrox are fantastic occasions. "Where are they going to go? They want to get better competition and more money but it is going to be difficult to get into the Premiership. The Premiership doesn't need them for the crowds because in every game there, even at clubs who are at the bottom of the league, the grounds are full. And what happens to the European places? Are they going to sacrifice that to get into the Premiership? They are virtually guaranteed Europe here every year."

Jan 22nd on the Hibs Post Match...  "Kris Boyd is the one person you would have wanted our chances to fall to. He was right through early on but it was saved and then Hibs got a terrific goal. Then they got a second very quickly after that and that was the difference between the two sides at half-time. Just before half-time Boyd had another great chance when it has bounced from a corner and he mishit it. He could have had a hat-trick today if his finishing had been as clinical as Riordan's because that was the difference between the two sides." Match Report

Jan 18th on being the Bookies Fav to get Fired First (this season)... "Being made favourite to be first manager sacked this season certainly drove me on. I knew why it was happening. The stark facts were that we had finished ninth last season and we lost players in the summer. Looking about the SPL, there were a number of new managers at clubs - Jimmy Calderwood, Allan Preston, Davie Hay, Tony Mowbray. John Robertson had just taken Caley Thistle -up - and I don't think Martin O'Neill was likely to get the sack. That didn't leave many of us and I suppose someone had to be the favourite - I just didn't like the fact that people thought I was an obvious candidate. It just made me work all the harder to prove people wrong. The players were also hurt by it and getting a decent start to the season was vital."
On his young Squad...  'It's a worry because I don't want to lose any of them. But I know it would take a really good offer and I don't think it's a bad thing for them to stay at Kilmarnock and continue their development.  I built a good team at Hearts and if we could have kept the team together after winning the Scottish Cup they could have won more trophies. But the players' success meant other clubs wanted them. Neil McCann went to Rangers when he was a vital member of our team. He had a clause in his contract that meant we were powerless if a bid for £2million came in. We agreed to that clause to get him but I always hoped nobody would come in and offer £2m. Rangers did and that was that.  David Weir went to Everton, Paul Ritchie to Rangers and Colin Cameron could have had his pick of clubs. There was just something about that team. It had the right balance and if it could have stayed together another two years you just don't know what could have happened.  It's the same here. Once they get noticed they are open to somebody coming in. If we built a team that finished third in Scotland, I would probably have to go out and start from scratch again the next season because others would want our players. But we've done it before and we'll do it again if we have to.
Managing under today's financial constraints... 'Three weeks after I came in, the news came through that the SPL TV deal had collapsed. A lot of clubs had budgeted for that money and we all had to draw in our belts.'We made cuts at administration level and it became clear that the club had to start living within its means. Every club did.'Our chairman has put down a three-year business plan and we have to stick to it. It takes longer to build a side now. That's the biggest change.You have to bring on your own players, like Motherwell and Aberdeen have had to do. When they started to do it, they had bad years and finished bottom of the league.'Last year we had to do it and it was tough for us but we weren't far away from a top-six place and if we hadn't lost a penalty in the last minute of the last game of the season, we'd have finished a couple of places higher."
On the Teams Current Form...'Slowly but surely, though, we are giving them the young squad they want, playing good attacking football. Some teams are saying they can't buy a goal but we've scored nine in our last four games, so that's pleasing.  And winning four games in a row against SPL opposition is quite a feat.  Now we have two tough tests coming up, against Hibs and Celtic, but if we play as we have been, those will be cracking matches."

Jan 17th more on the Motherwell Post Match..."It's never ideal playing the same side back-to-back and the same can be said for Motherwell. We knew, having knocked them out of the Scottish Cup last weekend, that they'd be coming down to Rugby Park desperate to get a result.  They got in about us, won more 50-50s than last week and had three great chances to score. It was a good match in terms of commitment and excitement and I'm pleased that we managed to take our chances and Alan Combe kept a clean sheet."

Jan 15th on the Motherwell Post Match...  "I thought Motherwell played better than last week and we knew they would. Back-to-back games are never ideal and the fact that we won the first one meant they were a team trying to prove a point.  They had three great chances to score, but we had about five or six and the true score should have been about 5-3. It would have been called one of the best games of the season. It was a game I was a bit concerned about after winning last week but the players were magnificent. We have got three young boys in the middle of the park - Gary MacDonald, Peter Leven and Steven Naismith - and they are really doing well. I said to the players what really pleases me is when you look at the bench. The captain, Gary Locke, can't get into the team at the moment, although he did a great job when Leven went off. We have also got Allan Johnston, Stevie Murray, Gary Wales, Rhian Dodds and James Fowler - players with experience under their belts. That shows you how well the team is doing. That's four wins and three clean sheets in a row. That should boost confidence and make up for when we were playing well and not getting results."  

Jan 13th on a possible top 6 finish for Killie... "Finishing in the top six this season would be as big an achievement as I've had in the game. I thought when I first came here and finished fourth to Hearts that it was a great effort. But then that team had to be broken up because of finances. We went with a lot of younger players last year and had a hard time of it. Aberdeen did the same and finished second bottom but we only missed out on the top six by a few points. If we finish above the likes of Motherwell and Hearts then it really would be fantastic 'The club has already budgeted to be in the top half and while we would still be losing money, it would help - as would a good cup run. A top-six finish would make things better. It's not just a case of players' contracts depending on that because it's not as black and white as that. But we could maybe improve the squad and hold on to players by making them better offers. I don't want to dismantle the team. Last week we had seven players under23and I can see us improving over the next two seasons.'
On using Glasgow University's Sports Complex... 'This is a great facility. Our training grounds have been affected by the weather and the only other pitch we could go to is used by the Under-19s so we would waste that. It is a terrific set-up as everything we need is here. I think it's a situation that will be looked at on a day-to-day basis but we will try to stay here until the end of the season. It makes a huge difference to our preparations. The boys didn't know what was happening from one day to the next so this is ideal for us. We have been like nomads as we've been all around Ayrshire for a place to train and never really found anywhere suitable.'

Jan 8th on the Motherwell Cup Post Match..."When you've got 11 players going out and playing with passion, giving it their all, you've got to be happy. We knew Motherwell would come here and be passionate and work hard about merited the win. The work rate and the application was just spot on. The good thing is we've got competition for places and a bit of flexibility with what we can do at the back now. Gary Locke came in and did well against Inverness and Gordon Greer played centre-half that day and played well. I've been able to bring David Lilley and Freddie Dindeleux back in today and, after the first 10 minutes when they struggled to get to grips with Scott McDonald and David Clarkson, they were excellent. Up front, Kris Boyd had his best game since coming back from injury and Colin Nish's work rate and movement behind him make them a great pairing. I don't like to pick one player out after such a good team performance but Steven was excellent. He's going to tire like he did eventually today because he's a young lad and he never stops running. He's a great prospect and is one of a number of young players in the team at the moment so it augurs well for the future. It's good to get a second clean sheet, and only concede 1 in the last 3, if you then score 7 goals you are going to win matches. I thought our movement was good and we always looked dangerous going forward. I certainly thought we deserved the win in some difficult conditions I thought both teams served up a very good game.... and yes we'd love a home draw at home in the next round"  Match Report

Jan 5th on Jan Loan Deals & Squad Changes...'The reserve league has been off for six weeks now and it doesn't start again until the middle of February. I have a few players, like Craig Samson and Shaun Dillon, who have agreed to go out on loan to gain valuable experience. Paul di Giacomo has terrific potential and he needs games under his belt. Players need matches and if they are not in the first team then this is the ideal opportunity to send players out to other clubs to play and keep themselves fit.  At Stirling Albion Paul and possibly Mark (Canning) will get that chance. With di Giacomo, it is in both our interests that he goes there and plays regularly. But Mark Canning is a player we have now released from his contract. He is a decent type but there are limited opportunities at Kilmarnock for Mark and we felt he'd be better moving away from the club and dropping a level or two and he has agreed to do that.' On Joly Departing...''Eric hasn't seen a lot of first-team football and I think he has found it tricky adjusting to the Scottish style of football. Peter Leven and Gary MacDonald have been in fine form for us and Eric has been out of the picture. His agent called me to ask if Eric could leave and we discussed it and I think he will decide to join Oostende, who gained promotion last season into the top Belgian league, so that maybe a better chance for him.  If he decides to leave there will be no hard feelings and we will wish him all the best.'
The Killie boss has agreed that if Joly, who is out of contract in the summer, wants to leave then he is free to do so.

Jan 3rd on the Caley Post Match... "Results suggest this is a very hard place to come and so it proved, The surface made it even more difficult, but I felt we dominated for long spells. We had a lot of good chances in the first half and the longer the game went on the more I started to worry that we would rue them. Caley looked as though they were going to weather the storm at one point, but thankfully Danny came up with two good goals. We have six points from six over the Christmas period so obviously we are delighted, but we have to turn it into a longer run now." Match Report

Jan 2nd on his Budget Constraints...  "I had £180,000 as a wages budget at the start of the season after losing Stevie Fulton, Alan Mahood, Martin Hardie, Barry McLaughlin and a few others. We had to find replacements and I managed to sign SIX players for that. Some guys are on £180,000 a year at other clubs - we got six for that. I'm not saying they're all on £30,000 but that's the average. Yet we have to go in against Rangers who are paying guys £30,000 a week. We think we've done OK and are managing to stick to the business plan. The problem is people aren't aware of these figures and the expectations aren't realistic. 'People like Christophe (Cocard ) were on massive wages when I came here after Kilmarnock had enjoyed success by winning the Scottish Cup. Three weeks after I came in the TV deal collapsed. The £1.8m we and other clubs had budgeted for was gone. Suddenly the job description had changed but I just had to get on with it - just like every club at that time. - More

Dec 31st on the Caley Pre Match... "Inverness were something of an unknown quantity when they came up this season, but they did very well under John Robertson and they have been given another boost with the arrival of Craig Brewster.  They play some good football, but they will also battle for absolutely everything and we know that we won't get anything without working for it when we play them. We have played well recently and even when we weren't getting the results we were playing OK, We've a very young side and, once we learn to cut out some of the silly mistakes, I think they can do really well. We want to pick up where we left off against Dundee, but we know it will be tough. We have told the players that, if we could get a win against Inverness, it would make the result against Dundee even better."
On playing on Jan 3rd ..."It is ridiculous. It would have been great to play on New Year's Day or Sunday - traditional days for football. We have to play on Monday because of the distance involved and the lack of transport for supporters. Common-sense would tell you that the SPL would look at the fixtures before they were published. Aberdeen are coming down to Motherwell while we go to Inverness. Those games could easily have been adjusted so that Aberdeen and Inverness played each other so there wasn't as much trouble for travelling. We played at Aberdeen (Dec 3rd 2002)  in a midweek game two years ago (which we won 1-0!) and there were very few of our fans there. People were working and you wonder why we are playing to small crowds. There is a possibility that the crowd on Monday could be the smallest in the SPL this season with the lack of transport. We are just hoping we can get a few fans as it is the holiday period. But common sense could have prevailed and an adjustment was made at the start of the season. It is not about players, we go where we are told. But we make it difficult for fans at a time of year when they are already being hit hard in the pocket. You can understand why people moan about it, because it is ridiculous to ask supporters to travel such distances  The fixtures come out that way and, for some reason, they seem reluctant to use a bit common sense. But it is the supporters I feel sorry for especially at a time when they want to see football."

Dec 27th on the Dee Post Match... "We've won and the results have gone okay for us so it's been a good day, especially because of the performance. No-one could say we didn't deserve the win. We were ahead at half-time and could have been more ahead but then we came out and produced our best second half of the season, I would think. At one point I thought we could have been five or six up but after that spell Dundee came into it and put us under a bit of pressure, as I thought they might. Kris then got the third and that dampened Dundee down a wee bit. I was disappointing with the lapse in concentration that let them in for their goal. However we played some great stuff, we always looked a threat going forward, in some very difficult conditions.
Overall the players were magnificent today. We have to remember it's a young side we've got and so the odd bad performance is expected. We don't want it but sometimes that is what will happen. But this takes us into next week's game with Inverness in good confidence. So does the Rangers game, because we did well in that."
On Boyd getting on the scoresheet....."Kris has been out for a wee while and because there are no reserve team games at the moment I threw him in against Rangers. He looked a bit off the pace in that one and also didn't win as much as I would like in the first half but in the second half he was much better. The goal will give him more confidence and we should benefit from that."
On 18 Year Old Naismith... "He was asked to play a different role today, off the front 2, with Danny pushing forward. He was biting at Barry Smith's feet all day. He is worthy of his place at the moment."  Match Report

Dec 24h on the Dee Pre Match... "We are still hanging on to the coat-tails of the top half, We know that we need the three points that would change the picture so much for us. But equally, if we lose the match against Dundee then we are back looking at a  dog-fight with the rest of the teams in the bottom half. I don't think that we have played all that badly recently, but we have to learn that when we are creating chances we have to take them. We are going through a transitional phase and the resources we have are limited. Against Rangers we had seven Scottish lads all under 22 or 23 and that is the direction that we have to be moving in. The players trained all week, So we are giving them Christmas Day with their families, but they will be back in on Boxing Day to train. We know how big a game this one is for us and we'll be trying to get the win."
On the teams Form...  “I‘m not too down about it. I watch these lads in training every day and I see how we play in the games. We are playing well against the teams in the top half of the table and we have to start doing that against the teams in the bottom half who have been causing us problems. That has to start in the next two games.”
On adding to the Squad... “No chance. We have a very limited budget. We would like to bring players in but I‘m in the same situation as a lot of managers. If someone came in with an offer for one of our players that was acceptable and the player wanted to move on then we could use those wages for someone else. But there have been no enquiries and no-one has intimated that they want to move so it looks like nothing will happen." 

Dec 23rd on Alan Combe's injury update...  “It is a huge relief. (Combe's injury) At this time we need all our goalkeepers and he is the only experienced goalkeeper we have so he is vital to us. Alan has lost a few goals but the number of times his saves have won us games or got us points is terrific. The injury was so painful at first that it was difficult to detect what was wrong and we thought it might have been a hairline fracture. That doesn’t seem to be the case now and it just looks like severe swelling and bruising. He still can‘t fit his foot into shoe yet but it‘s not as bad as we first thought.”
On Graeme Smith covering for Combe..."Graeme (Smith Combe's No 2) has shown that he can handle it.  He came in for a few games last season but he knew we were looking for an experienced goalkeeper and Alan has done a terrific job. Graeme has stood in twice this season against both halves of the Old Firm and did exceptionally well so we are pleased to keep him in the team." 

Dec 23rd on-line "chat" with killiefc.com.... Transcript is HERE.

Dec 20th on Alan Combe's injury...'At the moment, the medical people are saying it is severe bleeding but there is a chance it could be a hairline fracture. Once the swelling goes down, he will have a second X-ray. Obviously, we have our fingers crossed because losing Alan would be a big blow for us.'

Dec 19th on the Gers Post Match... "I couldn't ask any more from the players. We asked them to get in about Rangers and they did that. We never let Rangers play today. There was very little in the game, we were as good as them and we deserved something. The back-four have been losing goals and, even though they played really well today, the goal was typical of what we have been doing in the last half-dozen games. When a ball comes in, we aren't winning it and we did it again today. But we have to be happy with the way the team played and their commitment and work-rate. We had chances in the first half. Danny Invincibile went right through and, if he had looked up, he would have seen Colin Nish in a better position. Kris Boyd got a gift from a misplaced Marvin Andrews pass and he overhit the ball to Steven Naismith. But we have to praise the players today. We played well, we defended well - although it was a bad defensive error that cost us - and over the piece we had as many chances as them, But we need to play like that against the teams below us. The next two games are crucial. If we lose them, we're in a dogfight. If we win, we're in touch with the top six."  Match Report

Dec 18th on Squad Changes..."It is just down to the budget. But we certainly aren't desperate to go out and get players. We have to work at a certain level and just get on with it. There isn't a lot we can do."
On the Team's Fortunes..."We have played the last two games and have been really unlucky. We defended badly against Aberdeen but deserved something from it. Last week, we did not get the breaks we merited. We played well in the first half. But the breaks went with Dundee United in the opening 20 minutes when they could easily have been two goals down. And the game was over once the third goal went in. We can look at our performances against the teams in the top half of the table where we have done well. We have got to focus on that and, hopefully, the result will go our way. We are capable on our day if we do it right and show the right application."

Dec 17th on the Gers Pre Match..."I am asked this question every time Celtic and Rangers go out of Europe whether there will be a hangover. They will be disappointed, but we are not expecting anything other than a strong Rangers team."
On Wolski making his Killie Debut...  "Wolski has come in on a month's trial, but he has not played a lot of games. We will have him in as cover but it wouldn't be fair to the boy to throw him straight in against Rangers. If we don't have any alternatives, we will have to put him in but we will look at our other options first."
On McDonald's New Contract... "Contract negotiations had been going on for a couple of weeks with Gary and he was always committed to extending the contract. It was just down to the length of the term. (till May 2006). Hopefully, now details have been settled, Gary can concentrate fully on playing issues and I am sure his focus will be 100% on Sunday's game.

Dec 11th on the Arabs Post Match... "That's 13 goals in four games we've lost and you can't defend like that and expect to win matches. I thought Dundee United looked to be lacking in confidence and we were delighted in the way we started. But we found ourselves one down thanks to a wicked deflection when we should have been ahead and at the second goal, the delivery was what we had talked about before the game. We were unlucky to come in 2-0 down but we stressed that the next goal would be crucial and that we couldn't lose it. But 30 seconds into the second half an innocuous free-kick comes into the box and we give McIntyre a free header. United got a massive lift and they could have scored more goals and at the end of the day we did well to get away with 3-0.
On hearing his side had drawn Motherwell at home in the Scottish Cup.... "I've not even thought about it, I'm that disappointed in our second-half performance." Match Report

Dec 10th Billy Brown's Pre Match Arabs Comments..."Ian McCall is one of our former players, who spent two or three years with us at Falkirk. He was always a bit of a character, a real renegade, but he is an experienced manager now as this must be the fifth club he has managed. I certainly hope he keeps his job but it is a hard game, football.  It is an important game for Kilmarnock as well as Dundee United. Dundee United's problems are not our concern. We played well at Aberdeen but lost after being ahead twice and we want to get back to winning ways as soon as possible."
On Wolski...."We have to make sure he is what is required and whether he can settle in and that is the way now at many football clubs. David Lilley is suspended for three games after tomorrow and we don't have a lot of central defensive cover."
On Side's form... "We drew with Hearts and should have beaten Inverness. It was only the Dunfermline and Livingston games where we didn't acquit ourselves well. They were the two that brought us down."

Dec 4th on the Dons Post Match...  "Losing the second goal was a blow for us and a blow for Alan because, at that stage, it looked as though we were likely to go to 3-1 up rather than 2-2. He held his hands up at half time and apologised to the lads, but he has been excellent for us in the past and people do make mistakes so no-one is criticising him too much. If we had played like that for the last few weeks, we would have had a lot more points than we have now. I thought our application and attitude was superb, but we knew Aberdeen would come at us for the whole 90 minutes because they are a competitive and strong side. I thought we deserved a point and to lose the game was very harsh."  Match Report 

Dec 3rd on the Dons Pre Match... "Aberdeen have been doing fantastically well this year and that might suit us. Everybody will fancy them but we have always done well against sides who are going well. Hibs are fourth and we battered them the other week - and they are a really good side. Against Celtic at Parkhead, we could have got something with a bit of luck. We know we have to perform to have a chance and show the level of application required. Maybe when we know we have to perform, we do. We will not get away with the same level of performance at Aberdeen. The two Jimmys have added a couple of players but the body of the squad is the same. But they have shown what the right application can do this season. That just proves the point."
On Paul Di Giacomo..."Paul did his cruciate and has been out for a long time. He is a fit, young lad though and has come back a lot quicker than we expected. We could give Paul a few games and then, in the transfer window in January, we are thinking about loaning him out. By doing that, he would be able to get a regular run of games rather than getting a bit part here with the first team."

Nov 27th on the Livy Post Match... "The worst performance of the season....Your ability doesn't change, you either have it or you don't. What we have done against teams in the top half of the table, like Hibs, Hearts, Celtic, is show terrific application, work-rate and commitment. The teams in the bottom half like Dundee and Dunfermline are fighting for their lives and we have to match that. We knew, because of Livingston's situation, they would have a point to prove and they would make it very difficult and work their socks off. That's what they did." Match Report

 Nov 20th on the Pars Post Match... "Anyone who has seen us play in the last six weeks would see that we were getting the ball down and passing the ball well, but Dunfermline played the right game for the pitch. I am not making excuses, but they were playing short passes an moving and we struggled to cope with it. It is a different type of surface and you have got to be sharper, play to feet and you can't play balls into space for runners because the ball just goes away from you. At 2-0, the next goal was crucial but we gave them a free header to make it 3-0. We started to play and got a goal back then but Simon Ford hesitated at the fourth goal and Brewster, with his experience, punished us."  Match Report

Nov 19th on  Peter Leven.... "We are pleased to say we are close to agreeing a two-and-a-half-year deal with him. We believe he has earned it. He is enjoying getting the chance to play at Kilmarnock and we have shown faith by throwing him in there. He can play in the middle of the park or anywhere on the left, even as wing-back. He is a big, strong lad who is also quick and good in the air.It was great he got a call-up. (under-21 coach) Rainer Bonhof had mentioned him in the past and he was involved in the goal with a great back-heel. He is a player with one or two tricks up his sleeve."
On Gary McDonald...."We are in the process of renegotiating with Gary. We have had initial talks and will have some further discussions. He was in and out of the side last year before establishing himself at the end and this year he has been virtually ever-present. One of his strengths is getting into the box but he got carried away with that and forgot the other duties that come with playing in midfield. He has curtailed that now and is another one who could go on to do very well."

Nov 13th on the Hearts Post Match... "If we had gone 2-0 up we would have won the game and I don't think Hearts could have had any complaints. We took a wee bit of time to get into our stride but once we took the lead we went up a level. In the second half, Hearts were a little bit more direct but we had chances to make it 2-0, there is no doubt about that. Gary McDonald has missed from six yards from a free-kick that came in, Allan Johnston had a good chance and so did Danny Invincibile at 1-1. We had the better chances and the most saves were definitely made by Craig Gordon. Our defence was outstanding. Hearts scored a really good goal. I thought it was too quick for Wyness but it was a terrific finish. Hearts then put us under pressure, from corners and free-kicks mostly, but at 1-1 we had another great chance when Invincibile was right through with only the goalie to beat. No disrespect to Freddie because he has been playing well at left back but the change seemed to help us."   Match Report

Nov 12th on Alan Combe's Scotland Call-Up..."I have never banged any drum, but, in general, the club has not had too many in the full Scotland team over the last few years, apart from Ally McCoist and Ian Durrant. You can see that Alan has made a great contribution this year. There aren't too many Scottish goalkeepers playing and there isn't a lot to choose from in terms of experience. Scotland have two cracking young goalkeepers in David Marshall and Craig Gordon, but I was surprised there were only two goalkeepers in the squad for the last two games - what happens if one of them gets injured in the warm-up? They have gone for three this time and it is great that Alan is in there because of his form - that will be a boost for him. I told him that if he came back here he could get into the Scotland scene because there are not many experienced keepers challenging for a place. Coming to a club like Kilmarnock means there will be games where he would have a lot to do and if he did well he'd be in the frame. That's how it's turned out.'
JJ on Peter Leven..."He has been outstanding and he is still only 21. The way Peter is playing, it is inevitable he will get in the (Scotland) squad. If selection is based on the way he has played, he has kept the captain Gary Locke out of the team, so that's enough said."

Nov 6th on the Celtic Post Match... "A couple of decisions went against us and nothing went for us, None of us could believe the penalty award but that's what you get when you come here. And the handball for the free kick was ridiculous. I thought my team were magnificent, well-organised and Celtic struggled to create chances against us.  If you check out the referee then the only time he has come here before was for a pre-season game," said Jefferies. This was his first competitive game here at Parkhead so you can draw your own conclusions. I will get into trouble if I say anything else. You come here and you've got to get breaks but we didn't with these decisions. For the first decision, sometimes you get them and sometimes you don't but the ball is there to be won and David Lilley charged the ball down. If it did hit his hand then it was not deliberate so I felt that was harsh and it was the same with the penalty. I thought Simon Ford won the ball and if that was a penalty then Gary McDonald should have got one just after when he went down under Didier Agathe's challenge.You have to calm down and I just asked him (Conroy) for an explanation and he gave us an explanation so, end of story. He has seen it as penalties and we have to accept that.Even John Robertson (Celtic assistant) said that if one was a penalty then so was the other. But I won't let the referee's performance cloud the fact that Kilmarnock played extremely well." Match Report

Nov 5th on the Celtic Pre Match... "We will go there with a plan and we will try to get at them but we won't be kamikaze about it. We'll be well organised we have players who can cause them problems. They don't drop many points and we haven't won there for 49 years but we have seen that it can be done. Clearly it will be tough but we have to go there with hope and with an idea of how to get something from the game and we will do that.'

Oct 30th on the Hibs Post Match... "We're not just digging out the results, we're entertaining people too and I'm encouraged by the the fact that we're more solid at the back and have only lost a goal in our last two games. People were saying after five or six games that this is the best start we have had to a season for a long time. We are certainly making a laughing stock of the people who fancied us for relegation at the start of the season. I was frustrated last week but I'm happy this week - we made up for it big-style with the win on Wednesday and then again today against a team who were fourth in the league before this game. I was wishing there was no half-time and that we could have played right through.I knew that they would probably get a talking to at half-time and come out determined not to lose any more goals but I don't think we gave them much of a sniff in the second half other than the lift they got after the goal." Match Report

Oct 29th on the Hibs Pre Match... JJ had been critical of his players for failing to kill off 10-man Inverness at Rugby Park a week ago but the Motherwell win meant his four-point target from the two games was reached anyway. "We got the points, albeit in reverse order, and I am looking for three against Hibernian. Hibs are a side that if you stand off them and let them play can cause you all sorts of problems. Both teams like to get the ball down and play."

Oct 27th on the Well Post Match... "I was really pleased for Colin Nish. We were going to take him off after he scored because he hasn't been back that long but he seemed to get a second wind and had another couple of chances. Losing Kris Boyd was a big blow for us but we decided to give Nish his chance. He has been out for a while and hadn't looked as sharp as he had before but we knew he would be looking for his chance with Boyd being out and we didn't want him to be on a downer if we kept him out. But he worked hard tonight and I was delighted to see him getting the goal."  Match Report

Oct 25th on Kris Boyd's Training Ground Injury..."Kris could be out for four to six weeks after suffering a knee injury during training. He turned quickly and caused the injury. This is a big blow for us and the player."

Oct 23rd on the Caley Post Match... "They should have been buried long before the second goal went in. In the first half we should have been going in three- or four-one up. They had a man sent off and we still missed chances. The third goal obviously wasn't coming but we should have at least come away with a 2-1 win.  We had enough chances to win four games never mind today but they got the one chance that came their way in the second half and took it. That's the bit that disappoints me because defenders have got to keep concentrating. On chances made a proper score should have been five or six. We should have scored another five goals today because we had more than enough chances. We made more than when we scored five against Dundee United."  Match Report

Oct 22nd on the Caley Pre Match..."We may have scored five goals last time at home, but it might be easy for the fans, who have been great to us, to expect us to win it within the first 10 to 15 minutes because Caley are bottom of the league. But that won't happen. One more than them I will settle for because we are going to have to work hard for points against Inverness.  The supporters have been great to us and are entitled to their opinions but we have a lot of young players and we have to be patient. We have to make sure the players give the maximum commitment to the jersey. We know we have the ability but we have to earn the right to that by competing well. We did that against Dundee United and we will settle for the same performance and just one goal more than Inverness. The fans can help us by understanding they will not be easy opponents and our young players need encouragement."

Oct 16th on the Dee Post Match..."It was good to get off to a start like that and Boyd did terrifically well because I thought he had lost his chance. He didn't shoot early which he usually does but he composed himself and slotted the ball away from an angle.  It gave us a platform to go on and play well and we did look comfortable for the next 10 or 15 minutes. But maybe the players thought it was just going to happen for us and we would run out comfortable winners. Dundee didn't feel sorry for themselves though, they picked themselves up and bounced back. We said to our players at half-time Dundee were not finished and if we continued playing the way we were, we would toil to get the result. It was two long balls through the middle which gave them their goals in the second half which was disappointing although I think their third goal was due to the fact we were up the park looking for the equaliser. We had a lot of pressure at that point and so we were always going to leave ourselves exposed. So maybe 3-1 looks like we were well beaten but that wasn't the case."  Match Report
On Levin's Injury...“Peter got a fright because it was the same knee in which he injured his cruciate ligament before.We’ve had a look at him and it looks like he’s probably just trapped a nerve. I think he just twisted his knee in the challenge and it’s not as bad as he thought it was going to be, but we’ll know a lot better on Monday.”

Oct 15th on the Dee Pre Match..."We usually have good games with Dundee, Jim's teams like to get the ball down and play like we do. Dundee will go into the game expecting to take points off us and we will be expecting to do the same to them. Jim has lost a lot of quality players but he is very good at getting the best of the players that he has. There is little between the two teams. Three of the games we've lost have been against the teams who finished in the top three last season - Rangers,Celtic and Hearts. We have acquitted ourselves well and it's important we keep the momentum going. There is a good spirit in the squad and the confidence, which deserted us a bit last season , has returned. We are also scoring goals and while it is always difficult at Dens Park,we know we are capable of taking all three points."
On Signing Simon Ford... "Simon had already impressed enough to earn a contract and now it is up to him to show he is worth a longer one. He suffered an ankle injury while playing against Hearts reserves, but now he is fully recovered and he gives us extra cover at the back. But he did well when he came up to Scotland last week and I think he is just what we need at the moment. He is versatile in that he can play anywhere across the back, although he prefers to be in central defence.The lad has a decent pedigree having started his career at Charlton and he will put pressure on Lilley and Dindeleux, who have done well this season, for a starting slot.He is a good athlete, is effective in the air and is a decent passer of the ball so I'm very happy to have signed him for the club.'
On Jolly being fit Again..."Eric came through a reserve match with Aberdeen unscathed.It's good to have him back because he gives us another dimension in the middle of the park.'
On the 2-0 defeat at Rangers before the international break.... "We didn't fold after the early goal as we had done in the past, so that was very pleasing. That was the sort of game we would have lost heavily last year so we are showing a lot more resilience."
On Boyd after arriving back at the club in the early hours of Thursday morning following international duty with the Scotland Under-21 squad... "He looks a wee bit fresher than he was last time."

Oct 4th More on the Rangers Post Match..."We have gone to Ibrox in the past couple of years and taken some heavy defeats. But we were never torn apart yesterday and had as much of the ball as I can remember against Rangers away from home. We were positive but we just lacked that wee bit in the final third. There were occasions when players could maybe have chosen a different option and we did have a couple of chances on top of Boydy hitting the post. Boyd will score goals. We had said to him all week it wasn't about going out to prove last week against United was a flash in the pan. He was unlucky and, as I said, there were opportunities when he could have made different choices. It was hard for him. Boumsong is a very good player and he was in against Marvin Andrews who is big and strong as well. When it was 1-0 for so long you always have a chance and Kris almost got us the goal. Even when his shot hit the post, if it had come straight back out, it would have been a tap in for Craig Dargo but it spun away. Maybe we just used up all the goals last week."

Oct 3rd on the Rangers Post Match..."If it had gone 1-1 I'm sure we would have come away from here with a point. We have come here and taken a couple of heavy defeats before but not today. That was never going to happen. We set up the team to have a go with two wide players which has been working for us this year. We probably had as much possession as Rangers. Maybe in the last third we lacked the ball that might have troubled them."  Match Report

Oct 2nd More  on the Rangers Pre Match..."I don’t know why we don’t get the credit, For a while Kilmarnock were regularly in the top three, but they had a lot more experienced players then and they were spending a lot more on wages; maybe more than they should have spent given the size of their crowds. When I was at Falkirk, we always got it down, we were good to watch. I had a really good side at Hearts that won the cup, nearly won the league. It takes two or three years to get it like that, but they are starting to show the signs now. We played well against Celtic. Martin O'Neill said it, for the first half hour we battered them. The thing is, we didn't enjoy the lead for long enough, going in front for 90 seconds, then two minutes. If we had ten minutes when we were in front, who knows? That day we showed that, even in defeat, we give everything. When it comes down to it, compared with most other teams, we are all right. Sides have to play really, really well to beat us. Although David Lilley has been fantastic for us at centre-back, and allowed Gordon Greer to move to full-back, it is in defence that we need more competition to cover ourselves, When we have crossed the line there in the past couple of years, we have gone into our shell, But who would have thought we would be going there seven games into the season with a chance of second place? I have no reason to set up the team negatively. We have lost a lot of players and brought a lot of players in; a lot of bargains, if you like. Maybe because Rangers haven’t made the start that was expected of them, I think there is hope. We are good to watch and have young lads who express themselves."
On Peter Leven... 'He turned up here last year a stone overweight. He needs regular training every day at a certain level. I said to Peter 'Listen, you've shown us you have the ability but you couldn't play at the level we want because of your fitness. 'I told him to show the right professionalism over the summer and get into shape for pre-season.
On Kris Boyd... "We have had a word with him about the expectations now, The last thing he wants is to go through the next three weeks without kicking a ball. He is not under pressure to score, though. If he gets a chance, he’ll make sure he sticks it away. But I want to make sure he plays well and creates chances for others, as he has been doing. Against United, every time he went up for a high ball, he won it. He wins a high percentage in the air when he goes up for it, but has a habit of waiting for the other boy to miss it."

Oct 1st on the Rangers Pre Match... "Personally I want all Scottish clubs to do well in Europe because it's good for the game in Scotland. But we've just got to go there and try to concentrate on ourselves and that's the key - not bothering about Rangers. If you just concentrate on doing what you've been doing well, then you'll have a chance. And if you want to put them under pressure then you've got to play well on the day. We're not kidding ourselves, we're going to play against a good Rangers team who will be difficult opponents. But we've shown that if we play to our maximum then we can be difficult opponents as well. We said before last week's game against United it was important that with playing Rangers in the next game, we wanted to go into that match on a high. We did that and set ourselves up with a good performance and a good result, so we just have to take that into the next game and build on that. We haven't performed well at Ibrox in the last couple of years but it's a new team we've got and we've started the season quite well. And the United result gave us the leeway to go up there, look forward to the game and give a good account of ourselves."

Sept 27th on going to Ibrox next..."The manner in which we beat United was pleasing, especially with us going to Ibrox next. We can go there now with our confidence up. We have given ourselves a bit of leeway in the league, and I hope we will give a better account of ourselves than we have done in the last couple of years.  But it will be a different game to the one against United. We will go and try to win - we always do. You have got to pose them a threat - but you have got to be sensible." 

Sept 25th on the Arabs Post Match...   "It was a fantastic feat by Kris but the best goal of the game was chopped off. I have seen John Hartson and Chris Sutton score hatfuls of goals like that at the back post and how that could ever be classed as a foul, I don't know. But the referee saw it as a foul and we can't complain. Kris got five, however, I think he was robbed of six. I knew Kris was capable of doing that. We've got players capable of creating chances and, if we do that, then Kris will stick them away. We were excellent in the first half and we were exacting a little bit of revenge for last season when they scored four goals before half-time against us at Tannadice." Match Report

Sept 24th on the Arabs Pre Match... "In the league, you have got to accept there is very little between the teams and even Celtic and Rangers are finding it a bit harder this season. There is very little in the games and there has been a lot more hunger and commitment but it is difficult to separate teams. It is all about finding consistency and, if you can get a few wins under your belt, you're moving in the right direction. We have all played the same number of games, we're sitting in a good position but we need to maintain that against Dundee United. If we don't, we will drop down a bit and have to work doubly harder next time round. The league is a real priority for us but the same will be true of Dundee United. But we want to make up for last weekend when a win would have taken us to second place. However, another win on Saturday would lift us up again and we have the ability to do it."

Sept 22nd on the Hearts (CIS) Post Match... "I thought we slept at Hartley's first goal. We had players at the edge of the box but they were too slow to react and I don't know what they were thinking about.  When the corner was played out of the box we were then looking for players to close Hartley down because you can't allow him to strike it from there. So it was two mistakes that led to their first goal. I thought Hartley made a terrific run for his second but we had James Fowler in the middle of the park to match his runs but he was caught napping. So we're disappointed with the goals we lost but we're also disappointed with chances we missed. If Hearts had got the chances we had then they would have scored with them, but we didn't."  Match Report

Sept 18th on Gary Locke's injury during the Dons Match... "He was out cold and was taken to hospital and we are still waiting to hear how he is. The referee made the right decision to pull back for a head knock, but the Aberdeen players wouldn't have known what was wrong with him.He's obviously in hospital just now and, hopefully, they (the Aberdeen players) will realise that it was the right decision, but I can understand why they were frustrated."
On the Dons Post Match..."It looked as though we were heading for a 0-0 draw, or that one goal would settle the match and that is how it turned out. However, I think the hungrier team won the game at the end of the day and we can have no complaints." Match Report

Sept 17th on the Dons Pre Match..."People wrote us off at the start of the season and we lost a couple of players but we had the determination to prove them wrong. The players were fired up by the criticism at the start of the season and they're still fired up by that. It's only five games but the players are determined to keep it going because they won't prove anyone wrong after five games - they have to keep it going. We've managed to get the points early and that has relaxed us and given us a bit of confidence. This is the best start we've had for a long time and hopefully we can keep it going and make it a really good start. We're at home to Aberdeen in the league and we're sitting level with them on points. We've got a chance to go into second spot tomorrow and hopefully we can do that. The incentive is there for Aberdeen to stay there but we're at home and we had a good result last week. We've had more clean sheets already than we had last season. We really should be looking towards making sure that we're consistent. We've got players at the club who can create chances to score goals so we just have to keep it tight at the back. Who would have thought earlier in the season that a game between Kilmarnock and Aberdeen would be third against second in the table? Rangers and Celtic still have very strong squads so we will just concentrate on ourselves at the moment."

Sept 11th on the Livvy Post Match... "We are second equal - that sounds better. Last year everything was going in with every mistake we made. That's four wins all with clean sheets out of six games and I hope we can keep that going. We gave away a lot of daft goals last year.  The wind made it difficult for football, especially in the first half when they had the advantage of the wind. It was swirling and players were seeing clearances just going up in the air. Livingston were getting hold of the ball better than us so we changed and went 4-3-3 to bring Allan and Danny into the channels and it paid off for us. We had chances to score before we did go one-up."  Match Report 

August 29th on the Pars Post Match... "It's a game we would have lost last year, there is no doubt about that because Dunfermline put us under pressure and a lot of it was with their aerial threat. But the resilience from our team was there and when we needed Alan Combe a couple of times he was equal to it and that's a major difference. We were a bit more alert and we didn't give them any easy chances. And David Lilley has been terrific for us since moving into the middle of defence. We've been criticised for losing goals but that's the third time this season that we've kept a clean sheet. We had 10 men against Celtic when they beat us and we gave daft goals away at Tynecastle last week against Hearts but we've been okay in the other games and hopefully we can be a bit more consistent this season. It was all about the three points and I stressed that to the players before the game. There is no point playing well and losing and we can play better."  Match Report 

August 28th on the Pars Pre Match... "Dunfermline will be bitterly disappointed but we cannot forget they still have some very good players. They lost to Aberdeen last week but Jimmy Calderwood admitted afterwards that Dunfermline should have won. Davie Hay may still be settling in but he is very experienced and we know it will be a hard game for us. I would have loved to see Dunfermline get through because you want all the Scottish teams to do well in Europe."

August 24th on the Accies Post Match...""We had talked about our poor record in this cup to the players and we didn't want to let the fans down. But this is a new team from the one that got beat against Brechin last year and we have fresh legs and no one can say that we didn't deserve to win. I thought we were excellent. We worked hard and won the game 3-0. We didn't make hard work of it. I told the players they were on a hiding to nothing, that Accies would get a lift coming here. I told them to keep passing at tempo - keep that going and they would get their reward in the second-half. So it wasn't a struggle. They had a chance to score when it was goalless, but it could have been making it 1-1 rather than 1-0 to them. Gary McDonald had a chance to score just before that and it hit his nose from three yards out."  Match Report

August 23rd on the Accies Pre Match..."There was not a lot wrong at the weekend and I have told the players that they need to stay confident. We need to do what we did against Hibs and Celtic but if we don't play to our level then they will make it difficult. This competition has not been kind to us in recent seasons and we have let ourselves down badly. We want to make up for those exits by going out with all guns blazing against Accies. Hamilton will get a lift from playing an SPL club and we need to dictate the tempo of this cup match and emphasise our superiority and show exactly why we are the SPL side."

August 21st on the Hearts Post Match..."We had chances in the game and were the better side in the first-half but, when you create chances like that, you have to take them. If you don't score, you pay the price. Hearts took advantage of that and that's credit to them. The first goal was a header from the smallest man on the park and the second goal was another free header. That is the difference between ourselves and Hearts - they wouldn't let anyone near the six-yard box with a free header."
On Kris Boyd's Fitness..."Boyd was absolutely knackered when he came off and that's why we had to take him off. He arrived back at 1am on Friday morning after being away with the Scotland Under-21s because of flight delays. He didn't have the chance to train with us before the game and it's just ridiculous." Match Report 

August 20th on the Hearts Pre Match..."It's been a difficult start for us, but there has been a lot for us to be pleased with so far, I think the fact that we came in for a bit of criticism before the season even started and were written off in some quarters has given the team a little bit of extra motivation. Sometimes, if you feel that you are going out to prove a point, it gives you something more. Whatever it is, we'll need to sustain it as consistency is what we need this season. We took no points from the game against Celtic, but some of the performances were excellent and we have to go about tomorrow's game against Hearts with the same spirit and commitment."
On Kris Boyd..."He has done really well (Kris captained the Scotland U-21's this week!) and, if he continues this way, he can have a big future in the game. He has to keep his feet on the ground and make sure he keeps learning. He has attracted a bit of attention, but I've said before that I wouldn't welcome an offer for him because we want to keep him. It was a long way to travel for a friendly so early in the season and they were delayed coming back. It is certainly not ideal and we will have to watch how he goes on. The Under-21s usually fly back after the game with the national team but this was on scheduled flights which are often delayed."
On Allan Johnston... "You watch him in training and see he has still got terrific ability. We are just hoping he can recapture his best form. He has come back to Scotland after a few seasons in England and will have to adjust but he should be able to do that quickly."
On Eric Joly... "I had told him Scottish football was quick and he did well in the circumstances. Very shortly he will be in line to put pressure on the other players. We have competition throughout the squad now and that can only be good. The players know there are others who can come into the team without weakening it and who are bursting to play." 

August 14th on the Celtic Post Match...""I don't think we deserved to come in after a performance like that 3-2 down at half-time, We were by far the better side in the first half. Yes, it was the right decision because that's the rules, (Lilley's red card) What is disappointing is that they put the ball through the wall straight away. Overall I was very happy with the effort! If we play like this every week, then we'll be alright" Match Report

August 13th on the Celtic Pre Match...'We got a good result last week and the team was buoyed up and looking forward to Celtic - then this happens. I could not name a team until tomorrow. I'll have my fingers and toes crossed that one or two will be better. Dargs however has been flying in training, and scored two goals in the reserves, so he was right in contention, but this game may come too early for Johnston. I would rather he missed one week and had him ready for the next games, than to risk him and end up losing him for 5 or 6 weeks. I told them to make sure that if Celtic do win, make sure they've earned the victory, and that means you've worked hard and played well. It's one of those things. It's funny how these things work. You have to accept it and get on with it.
On McCurry being the ref...."Mike is still one of the top referees in Scotland. But it's not about the referee on Saturday. It's about us performing well and you make your own breaks. We didn't get the rub of the green last time when Boydy had a goal chalked off, but it might be our time tomorrow. They might get a goal chalked off this time, who knows? 

August 11th Squad Thoughts... Jim Jefferies talks to killiefc.com about the squad and his plans for the season ahead - Here

Aug 7th on signing Alan Johnston... "I have chased him a lot over the last couple of years especially recently with his situation (at Middlesbrough)."He has had a couple of big moves and looked after himself. He has also proved in the last 48 hours that it's not about the money. "We have limited resources here and I spoke to Allan in the summer before the pre-season and he fully respected our circumstances. He has come within our budget and, after speaking to his agent, I know he turned down better offers. He promised me he would sign for me if he came back to Scotland and I am delighted he was true to his word."
On additional signings..."That's not the end of the signings. I told Allan that I had to keep something back because I am looking for a central defender. I am pretty sure what we are going to do with that over the next couple of weeks, which means, including Allan, we will probably bring in six new players on a very limited budget. It's not easy and it's a lot of hard work trying to find the players and really convince them to come here. But we have got something happening here."

Aug 7th on the Hibs Post Match... "The most important time for us was the first 15-20 minutes and I thought Hibs did well then but Alan Combe kept us in the game. I thought he was outstanding in the first half and then, as the game wore on, we got more confident and we looked like we could cause a threat. In the second half I don't think Alan had a save to make and that frustrated them so towards the end we had chances to finish them off.  Alan's confident, he organises his defence and he talks to them - he's a good shot-stopper too and I couldn't fault him today. He will do well for us. Yesterday at the team talk we said we had a hard start at Hibs because they've got a new manager and have done not badly in pre-season. There's a lot of optimism at Hibs amongst the supporters so we knew it was important to come here and not just make up the numbers - we had to be organised and I feel we did that today. I don't think a lot of people would have fancied us to win here but we worked hard and showed a lot of spirit to get the result so I think we could be a handful for a few teams.". Match Report 

Aug 7th on missing out on Paul Ritchie..."Paul had been made an offer to play for Dundee United for six months and I never really thought I could afford to get him. I read in one paper that we've offered him £1,000 a week which is absolute nonsense - I don't have that kind of money. When we heard he was available for six months that changed things and we thought we could maybe take him on as the deal we had to offer would maybe suit him. We came in and made our offer to him which I think was maybe a bit better than the one Dundee United had made him. But the big draw for Paul was that he is from Glenrothes which is where all his family are and it isn't too far from Dundee - I think he had committed himself to them because he had already had a medical. I spoke to him yesterday and I think he felt obliged to go there so good luck to him." 

Aug 6th more on signing Eric Joly..."I'm delighted that everything has finally been sorted out with Eric this week. Several years ago with Hearts we watched a game in Belgium with Peter Houston to look at a striker and we came back raving about the performance of Eric. We made enquiries at the time but he was under contract there and they were in Europe and it was more money than we could afford so we never pursued it. It just shows you how things work out...at training last year Freddy turned around and asked me if his brother-in-law could train with us for a few days as he was over on a break and I nearly collapsed when I saw it was Eric Joly coming round the corner! Pure coincidence. We needed some experience in the middle of the park with a lot of young boys coming through. So we tried him out and he did extremely well so we decided to pursue the matter. We sorted things out between the two clubs so Eric had to go back and get his stuff sorted out and he just arrived back for training yesterday. He's severed his contract with Mons and hopefully having family here will help him settle in well."

Aug 4th on Patoullard & Bakari..."Patouillard has returned to France because we won't be offering him anything. We have offered Bakari a six-month deal with a clause for a longer deal if he impresses. We will get round the table with his agent."

Aug 2nd on signing Eric Joly..."You can already tell he is a quality player with his positional sense and the way he is capable of switching play. He will add composure to our midfield and experience."

Aug 1st on the French "trio" after the Derby Friendly... "Joly is not nearly 100% fit yet but I don’t think it will take him too long to achieve that and you could see that he has positional sense and the ability to switch the play, Bakari did well but we are still undecided, although he took up better position today and was very commanding. But he must learn that you do not get a lot of time on the ball here compared to the continent. Patouillard did all right and looks like he knows what he’s doing defensively. ”
 On the the Derby Match... "It was a good game and I'm pleased with the workout. It's always nice to keep a clean sheet, considering it was a back four that haven't really played together, and now we're just looking forward to the start of the new season." Match Report

July 31st on this seasons goals..."The first target in the SPL is to get into the top six and then we will see about getting into Europe but it is not easy as I say because we are a young side. Then the next thing is to try and do ourselves justice in the two cup competitions. You have to get the luck of the draw but a good run will help financially so that this time next year, we are not having to make more cuts.”

July 31st on Killie's young players... “We are a young side and our average age is in the low 20s. There might still be a bit of inconsistency but hopefully they have learned from last season. They were young boys last year so hopefully they are men now – but only time will tell. Shaun Dillon let himself down last year maybe because he thought he had arrived. Young players like him get into the team, they get into the Scotland under-21s, they get a new contract and suddenly everything’s great. I don’t think Shaun did himself justice so we had a wee heart-to-heart chat and he has turned up this season a lot fitter, leaner looking and hungrier. Boyd was very much improved last season. His link up play in the second half of the season was much improved and we have to make sure that he continues in that way. Young McDonald has also got the potential to come through and do well this year. He was making great runs from the middle of the park and getting midfield players to arrive late in the box is hard. His problem is that he needs to find more end product because if he gets two or three goals from the runs that he makes then he will grow in confidence.
The players have been terrific in pre-season. I said to them in Italy that there is a feeling of togetherness about the squad, they were all doing things together and so I was quite happy."

July 29th on being the bookies fav for the sack....  'The bookies have to target somebody (1st SPL manager fired into the new season) and that pressure makes me more determined to succeed. Financial constraints like these might sicken a less experienced manager but I accept hardship as a fact of life and move on." More 

July 24th on the Ayr Post Match... "Ayr never looked as if they would score. Ludo Roy had four or five great saves and the fact he was man of the match tells the story. I prefer to look at the bigger picture. We outclassed them for 70 minutes and should have had it wrapped up. Kris Boyd is a renowned goal scorer and could have had a hat-trick so he maybe needs a game to sharpen him up."  Match Report

July 9th on Signing Gary Wales & Peter Leven... "I’m delighted to add Gary and Peter to our squad as we needed a couple of more options up front and in the middle of the park. I know Gary well and if he can re-capture the sort of form that took him to the brink of the Scotland squad, then Kilmarnock fans are in for a real treat. Peter is a player who was starting to feature at Rangers before a cruciate ligament injury put him out of the game for 2-years. He’s now back to full fitness and at 20 years of age has still the time to fulfill his early potential.” 

July 2nd on Signing Alan Combe to 2 year deal..."There were other goalkeepers I could have signed but Alan knows the Scottish game. I thought it best to go for our first choice."
Combe Said.... "I've had a few challenges in my career and I see this move to Kilmarnock as another one. The situation at my previous club has been well documented and I am pleased to be here."

June 9th on the Goalkeeping situation... 'I've not made any decisions yet. (Alan) Combe is one of the keepers put to me. I have a couple of options and if he is available then I will consider it. I noted an interest in him when he was at Dundee United but he decided a change of scenery at Bradford would be good for him.  The other keeper I'm looking at is an experienced foreigner currently on international duty. Our two main priorities are a keeper anda centre-half. If there is any money left after that then hopefully I can bring in a few more players.'

June 8th on Swegs Contract situation..."I know he might get a better contract elsewhere and if so then he has to look after himself and his family. If Gary was to re-sign and do well for us then we would look at extending his deal, However, the ball is in Gary's court. It is up to him to consider all his options. The problem is budgets are tight and although I would like to keep Gary for his experience I have a number of players who can play up front. We have Colin Nish, Craig Dargo, Danny Invincibile and Kris Boyd who can all play through the middle and I have told Gary that."

    Jim Jefferies Comments for 2002-03 2003-04  2005-06  2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10

Killie Manager History 1957-Present Here