Kenny Shiels Comments 2011-12

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

Feb 21st on the Arabs Post-Match...  "It was a poor performance. There were contributing factors but they were the better team. I was disappointed in Craig tonight, I thought he was off the pace, as we were. He struggled to keep up with play and handed out cards like confetti. That isn't why we were beaten, though, we were beaten because the best team on the night won the game.  We are going to try and correct our frailties after tonight and the referee maybe needs to look at his performance and try to improve too."  Match Report

Feb 20th on the Arabs Pre-Match..."In the two games prior to the Rangers game, we drew with Dunfermline and Hearts in two games that we did enough to win.  We had good energy about us and we are playing well and I feel we have substantiated that now and we are in a position to go to Dundee United with more confidence. It's a tough game, we are aware of that, and we will have to be bang on our game to get something from it. It's better for us to take points off Dundee United than to take points off Rangers because Rangers are in a different league to us in terms of being uncatchable.  This is a game it would be fantastic for us to get something from."

Feb 18th the Rangers Post-Match...“I went over to enjoy the moment with the supporters because I wanted to celebrate with them, just for 30 seconds. I was so happy for them, for the players, for the club, for myself. Then, when I walked back across, Ally was waiting to shake my hand and, when I gave him eye-contact, I felt guilty because I'd gone from my euphoria of being so happy to meet someone who must be hurting a lot because of what he's had to go through with the Rangers situation. I feel really guilty about celebrating but I'm not going to apologise for that because you get a lot of moments when you get disappointment in this sport and I wanted to really enjoy the moment today. Tactically we were outstanding, We did our homework and the crowd were so much behind Rangers. But we nullified quite a lot of areas in their team. It's a great pitch for our product and our boys did really well, I was disappointed we went in at half-time 1-0 because we were inventive and created a lot of chances. I thought: 'here we go again' because so often this season we've conceded injury-time goals and I was worried. Dean caused them so many problems and we successfully freed him up, But Rangers have got quality players and we can't overlook the enormity of our performance today." Match Report

Feb 17th the Rangers Pre-Match... "I'm trying to focus on other things like how we prepare and what we are about, But with regards the Rangers situation, I feel there will be a galvanising of energy from the stands and pitch. It definitely will foster a siege mentality and they will definitely fighting to try to get a result. There will be a mutual feeling of 'let's do this for the club.
On Rangers Future..."I don't have enough knowledge, I am a rookie in Scotland so I don't envisage one way or the other what is going to happen. All I do know is that they are a fantastic club and any industry or any business that has a 50,000 people every fortnight then that is a viable business that I'm sure will prosper in the future. It just needs some good management and good practices from the very top of the club. I'm sure they will prosper again, it's just when that is going to happen." On Going For an "SPL Double" Over Rangers..."We have a chance to create history, We have never beaten Rangers home and away in the same season as an SPL club and that is our mindset, that's our incentive. We are trying to steer away from all the politics."

Feb 13th on the Paulo Sergio Incident..."When I was at school I was a wind-up merchant. The people I'd target would be people without a sense of humour, the Victor Meldrews. I had a good laugh. People take themselves too seriously and they should lighten up a wee bit and understand we're managers of football clubs. You need a sense of humour but if you haven't got one, if you really take yourself seriously then you'll take the bait. Winding-up is brilliant, it's good fun as long as you take it like that. I don't want to fall out with people but if you know me you'll take it as a bit of fun and banter. I know I divide opinion. I live in Edinburgh so I'm on a death wish! There is a thing in football management where you respect each other. Have I breached that? I think it's the other way around because I haven't done anything wrong."

Feb 11th the Hearts Post-Match (Jimmy Nicholl) ..."I am really disappointed as the game didn't look like it was going anywhere and there were very few chances, The sending-off turned the game for us, we got a grip of the ball and the commitment and concentration levels got higher. When Jamie Hamill was sent off I thought that would be the game for us but we lost a silly goal from a simple cross, I thought we were going to hang on but that didn't happen." 
On Covering For Kenny in the Post-Match... "He just says what he thinks. He's just like that, but I think he realises you've got to respect people in the game and not interfere with other people's problems at other clubs.  He knows that but it is just the way he is." Match Report

Feb 10th on Pascali's Leg Break...  "I am really disappointed for Manuel. It is a really big blow for him and the team. He has so much passion to do well, and there was the cup final for him coming up. It wasn't an impact injury, it was while he was stretching for the ball. It gives the opportunity for other players to come in and try to stake their place but I am really gutted. We now have to garner some intensive energy to make up for the loss of Manuel.
On Signing of midfielder Lee Johnson on a two-and-half-year deal.... "He is our type of player, he will help create chances for the team."

Feb 9th on the Hearts Situation..."If you have principles in your life and your job is to select the team and that power is taken away from you then you have to leave. If my chairman was trying to pick my team I would walk away because he has taken my job away from me.  am not criticising Paulo Sergio, but in my opinion, if the chairman ever said to me that I have to pick him or him then he is compromising my position. To belittle someone like that is so wrong. It wouldn't happen in any other industry. I have two keepers fighting for the number one slot. If the chairman says to me that I have to put in Anssi Jaakkola and I feel Cammy Bell is better, how can I look Cammy Bell in the eye and try to motivate him three weeks later? You have to back up your players. My principles have to be the most important thing to me because if you do that now, you will do that in other areas of your life."

Feb 7th on the Pars Post-Match..."It's very frustrating for a manager to put his team out to attack and you're not getting your just desserts. All we can do is keep doing what we're doing, because the away results haven't matched the performances - and here again, we draw another game away from home. On reflection of the game, we're really disappointed not to have won, I'm trying to be as unbiased as I can.  It's been our whole season away from home. I can count almost every game we've played away from home that's been similar to that.  We're not getting goals for some reason. All we can do is keep doing what we're doing, because the away results haven't matched the performances - and here again, we draw another game away from home. We're fighting to get into the top six and I'm really disappointed that we didn't get a result tonight for everyone at the club because it would have given us a three points cusion.  But we're in the top six now and we need to make damn sure we stay there." Match Report

Feb 6th on the Pars Pre-Match... "It will be tough, they gave us what for down at Kilmarnock when they beat us 3-0, It wasn't a day for football and they played the conditions better than we did. They are only one point behind Hibs and there is a lot of football to be played. I watched them at Motherwell and they gave a good account of themselves. But we know the importance of reaching the top six and we know if we win tomorrow night we are in there." 

Feb 4th on the Hibs Cup Post-Match... "I'm disappointed at the result, but not disappointed with the performance. I thought we did everything possible. After 15 minutes we were the dominant force. We killed them with our possession and movement. I was really pleased because we had good invention, patterns of play and attempts at goal. I think it's a cycle which can happen in football - sometimes the ball just won't go in for you."  Match Report  

Feb 2th on Killie Taking English Players In On Loan... "There are clubs in England who have been in touch and asked me to develop their players, Premier League clubs, but they weren't the right positions that we needed at that particular time. In December, I had meetings with clubs in England - big clubs - and they would like us to take on a couple of their players. I'm reluctant to because, if you bring in too many loan players, it takes away a dynamic of the team and the squad. So I'm reluctant to do it too often. I don't want it to become just (a case of) 'we'll develop your players' . Kilmarnock are a club in our own right so we can't fall into that trap. This year is more to benefit us but there has to be some sort of supporting mechanism from us for the player's future and I feel that we can provide that.  Of course. Chelsea and Arsenal were very impressed with the work we are doing, just to mention two. There are other clubs as well who are impressed by us and see that we help players to improve and understand. The fact that they are playing in the SPL, it looks good for those clubs that they are playing at a good level also."

Jan 28th on the Ayr Semi Post-Match... "Football is about two teams going out to win a game, Today there was only one team trying to do that. I'm delighted for the players because they stuck at it and were patient. It was thoroughly deserved, It was a fantastic performance. They came for penalties and almost got there. Football is a game that should be played with expression and we showed great courage, we attacked for the whole game. When they come out they look as if they can play. I wish they had done that more. If they had come out, it would have been a better game. The Ayr players deserve so much credit for their work rate and how much they put into it. But I think if they had come out they could have won the match and maybe that's a lesson for them.  Destiny is a wonderful thing, I was thinking for the whole of the second half that there was something going on with the man upstairs and that they were going to score. It's happened to me before and I thought Ayr were going to go through because we weren't getting any breaks."
On referee Steven McLean... "James Dayton, the most influential player on the pitch, was kicked from pillar to post, I said to the referee 'would you please give him some protection' and what did he do? He went and booked him. What's that all about?  Football was the winner today and I'm so pleased for the chairman and the supporters." Match Report

Jan 27th On Signing Belgian striker Dieter Van Tornhoutid ...“We’ve signed Dietar, he’s 6ft 2ins, he holds the ball well and will connect the top end of the pitch for us. He moves well with a decent understanding of the game. He’s a big lad so he’ll offer us a different style.  We’ve become a little bit predictable at times so he’ll give us variety in attack. He has played for Roda JC and Sparta Rotterdam in Holland and I was in Europe a few weeks ago watching him play in the Cypriot League. His club over there have got into financial difficulties and we’ve got him on a very good meal ticket, it’s not expensive for us. But I won’t play him on Saturday. If I bring him in it will affect the morale in our team. We’ve worked hard to create a spirit and it can have an adverse affect on the team when you add someone.”

Jan 26th on the Ayr Semi Cup Build Up..."I have managed part-time teams against full-time teams and there is no such thing as part-time football. The boys are more professional now, they will have done their work and I guarantee they will have done as much work as us and they will be well rested. I've been in that position and what you do, as a manager, is you bring it up all the time to try to use it to take the pressure off your players. And I can see that is happening. We were just waiting for that old chestnut to come out. I don't blame Brian for doing that, it's a method of trying to take the pressure off his players. But deep down he knows it's not really a disadvantage. He is working really hard to be the underdog and I can appreciate that. I'm looking more for the opposite effect. I want them to understand that it's a game of football. If they can focus on endeavouring to win a game of football, that's the key. The rewards obviously are in their heads but we want to try to eliminate that from their thoughts and try to get them to focus on winning a game of football.
On the prospect of reaching the final.... "It would be great. I really would be so proud to do that. Outside of the Old Firm, the opportunities don't come that often. It's my first season in Scotland and it would be really, really good. I would be very proud personally but I would also be proud for the club and the players."

Jan 21st on the Pars Post-Match..."It wasn't a good day for us, we have to take it on the chin and get back to work again," said Shiels. There was unpredictability about the flight of the ball all day. To say the pitch caused us problems would be the understatement of the year.  I don't want to take credit away from Dunfermline though, they are down there fighting for their lives and they showed great spirit for their manager."
Shiels emphatically denied that next weekend's Co-Operative Insurance Cup semi-final against local rivals Ayr United had an effect on the mindset of his players...."I've heard people say that going into the game. The players are professionals, no way would I say that is any reason for today's result,"  Match Report

Jan 20th on the Pars Pre-Match..."The most important game of your life is always your next game, We don't deviate from that. Dunfermline's away form is better than ours, so we have to be very careful.".

Jan 17th on the Dee Pre-Match... "Gary Harkins was fantastic. I am really pleased for him against his old club, He was the pivotal point of the team, I felt. Dundee were as good as us. They did the First Division proud tonight. We started poorly but [improved] once we got in control of our passing. I think it is a fantastic result against a team that hasn't been beaten on its travels since September. We knew it was going to be difficult. Dundee had good possession at times but our boys were magnificent. We did well - the organisation of my two centre-halves, the triangle in the middle of the park, Garry Hay played well. Overall, I would say we deserved to go through and that is a fantastic achievement. Dunfermline are fighting for their lives: so are we, we're not out of the relegation [fight] yet, We've got to be up for this one on Saturday. That is what we turn our attention to now."  Match Report

Jan 16th on the Dee Pre-Match..."We have eight players out injured - James Dayton and David Silva have only rank outside chances of making it - two who are ineligible and we have let three players go. So we are 13 players bereft of what we could have had on 1 January, so I would say that they have a great chance. Dundee are a more of an SPL team playing in the First Division and they have proved that. They will be a major threat and we will be on our guard. Hopefully we can progress. It is going to be hard, but we will be up for it."

Jan 14th on the Dons Post-Match...  "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's according to the person and their perception of the game. I wouldn't say it was a hard game to watch if you are into football but if you are looking at the game to see shots on goal and great saves from the goalkeepers then it was bereft of that. We had the best chance of the game but to go away with a point, there has to be a certain amount of satisfaction with that. The point has got us into the top six and that is a positive we can take out of it.
On replacing substitute William Gros only 13 minutes after he had been introduced...."He has strength and pace and I wanted to try and stretch them but he didn't give us that so I wanted to put a tricky player on in his place as I wanted to win the match. People go way over the top and search for controversy. It was a decision that I made and you have to do what you think is right if you want to win a game of football. It hurts people at times but I can't go down the road of worrying about hurting people's feelings - I have got to win football matches."   Match Report

Jan 13th on Signing Michael Nelson...."Michael is a commanding centre-half who has good guidance and leadership qualities,  We have been looking for more of that in defence, it is an important part of a team in the SPL. And Michael's drive in defence means that Manuel Pascali can be released from the defence. That is the aim in the long term, although with so many injuries we may not be able to do that tomorrow. Michael led Norwich and Hartlepool to promotion and Bury to the play-off semi-finals. That is the quality we are needing to take into the second-half of the season. He is getting to know everyone and he has been looking good in training in the last few days so I am confident that he will be a good addition."
On Ben Gordon Returning On Loan... "Chelsea have agreed to let Ben come up and play for us again on loan.  He left at this time last year and got a fantastic send-off from our fans away at St Mirren. He had a great first half of last season with us – now I hope he can do the same in the second part of this one.  When he went back, Chelsea put him out on loan to Scunthorpe but there was a problem there after the manager changed. They played a different style of football from us. Ben likes it if you can build something up as it gives him the chance to get forward. He’s an attacking full-back but if you play back to front like Scunthorpe did he can’t get involved in the game.”
On Racchi's Form... “I’m really pleased with Danny. He’s a development player but is maturing so quickly. To get him from non-league football – where he wasn’t even in the York City side – was a good piece of work by the club.”

Jan 12th on Son Dean Signing With Killie..."Dean's severed links with Doncaster. They've been very co-operative and I must give them praise. It was long and drawn out, but it got to a conclusion and he's signed with Kilmarnock until the end of the season. I would stress he's taken a massive financial hit for that, not because he's my son, that's just the truth. I think he's got attached to the Kilmarnock supporters and the club and he's taken a financial hit for this. People will say the father-son relationship is the heartbeat of his decision - it's not! I think he's got attached to the Kilmarnock supporters and the club and he's taken a financial hit for this. I'm proud of him because he's done something for a football reason. The thing I've found the strangest is that I spoke more to him when he wasn't my player. I was always asking him how he was getting on. But now that he's here, the relationship gets a bit more detached where your conscious he's a player and he's conscious I'm his manager. It sort of swings more towards that relationship."
On Chasing Riordan..."I'm still very interested in Derek because you could see the telepathic way they played when they were at Hibs, Both players make co-ordinated movement off each other and certainly they are good for each other. They are intelligent players and that can only benefit our team."

Jan 11th  Provides Great Squad Updates..."Dean has signed until the end of the season. He has taken a massive hit financially and he feels there is unfinished work here. Ben Gordon, who played for us last season and did so well, has agreed to and he will come up for the rest of the season. Michael(Scunthorpe defender Nelson) hasn't signed yet but we are in the throes of doing that this afternoon."

Jan 10th on Taking Derek Riordan on Trial..."Derek likes our way of playing, He would have the freedom to play and go and express himself. We wouldn't want him to do any defending. He knows it would suit both parties.  We would benefit from him and it's an opportunity for him to express what he can do. "If we keep Dean, they've got a great understanding those two, as anyone from Hibernian will tell you - they played really well together. There's that and the replacement option. All Derek wants to do is play football so hopefully something might happen, but it's a bit pie in the sky at the moment. He would have the freedom to play and go and express himself. We wouldn't want him to do any defending. We'd just play him in an area where he can exploit other team's weaknesses and certainly with the quality he has it would be suited to our style of play. But there are lots of things that have to be resolved which I can't go into detail on."

Jan 7th 2012 on the Dee Post-Match..."We spent the first 25 minutes trying to stifle the tribal environment," he said. "Dundee deserve credit for that and they had the lion's share during that period. Having stifled that we got a goal, I would say against the run of play.  We got in at half-time and discussed it and made changes to get more pressure and domination of the ball, We achieved that but unfortunately we conceded just after the interval. It was poor play in the midfield, timid tackling. It was fantastic by the referee to play Dundee a good advantage. Then we conceded a penalty and Cammy Bell proved his quality."
On the Ref's Chalking Off A Dee Goal..."It takes a good person to admit when they're wrong and they did that. It was hard to see what colour of shirt it was in the sun. I couldn't see what happened but seemingly he was well offside. I don't know how they established that but they had a discussion and one of them took charge of the situation and I felt that was very, very good by the officials. If it had been the other way around, maybe I would have another view."  Match Report

Jan 6th on Dean Shiels Staying... "I don't think it's going to happen, I really don't. There is a lot of negative stuff coming out and it looks as though Doncaster are reluctant to let him stay. I was speaking to Willie McKay and they say they want him back. Dean's keen to stay. It's not dead in the water just yet but it's heading that way. I've been looking at players who would be similar to Dean but I need to make a commitment one way or another. We are running out of time now. It depends on what opportunities he has. He will have loads of opportunities, there are a lot of clubs looking at him at the moment. We are not going to have him next season. I've got a few people that I'm interested in. We probably need a defender and a creative striker and they are hard to come by. That's basically where we are at. There are three (Patrick Ada, Billy Berntsson and Ben Hutchinson) who have gone out so far so it's just about balancing the budget.”
On the Dee Pre-Match...“There is a chance of an upset and that’s why it’s on TV – I’d have that view if I were a neutral. Because there is the potential for a shock result, we have to apply ourselves in a way that will make sure that doesn’t happen. It’s not a good draw because Dundee are a good team. They have won seven of their last nine games and they’re at home, so it’s as tough as it gets. I’m sure there are SPL clubs we’d rather be away to.No matter what you do it’s always in your head you have to match someone’s commitment and work rate. If we don’t, then we’ll go out”.

Jan 2nd 2012 on the Buddies Post-Match... "All I can do is apologise to the fans who came to see entertaining football, If you look at the effort and the desire from both sets of players you can see that it was there to play good football but the game lacked quality. The pitch won the game as it stopped our flow. In the first 20 minutes St Mirren taught us a football lesson. But I am really pleased to have won the game as I have been on the other side of the fence this season where we dominated matches that we ended up drawing. St Mirren have fantastic depth within our squad and we were missing some big players that fit perfectly into our squad too. We had to resort to playing route-one football and that eventually earned us the winning goal, it was a fantastic finish from Danny."  Match Report

Jan 1st on Killie's Brand of Football...“I’ve always enjoyed and championed good football.  It stems from my childhood, playing football with my friends from 6am – that would be us for at least 12 hours, maybe 15 hours. It’s all I wanted to do. Best was a big influence. He was as good a player as there has been. He entertained and had charisma.  The Dutch team of the 70s also got me. The way they passed and moved, their skill and ability to play the right way. I want to develop players who play the game the right way and entertain. My job is also about improving players. I relish trying to make players better. I can see improvement this season in James Fowler, Cammy Bell, Manuel Pascali, Liam Kelly and Garry Hay. Managers should be judged on what they leave behind. Their legacy is players who are as good as they can possibly be – that is the challenge I always set myself.  I’m not saying we’re the best team in the SPL but we’re the best at passing, intelligent movement and appreciation of angles. We have really improved and do not fear any side. Celtic’s Kelvin Wilson told Paul Heffernan after the game last weekend he thought we were the best footballing side Celtic have played in the SPL. That’s music to my ears.  The pitch is like porridge and will be that way for a while. But we’ll get on with it. We have a big month ahead. We could be in the League Cup Final or out of two cups.  We face tough ties. The League Cup semi-final is against Ayr United and derby games are never easy. There is so much at stake in that one for a number of reasons. We have to travel to Dundee for the Scottish Cup. Going away from home is always difficult but we want to do well in the cup competitions and be in the top six of the SPL.”

"We're doing really well, It's just a matter of hopefully getting that wee bit of a rub that's going to take us a bit further. We would like to go further to get into the top six. If we win our game in hand we're in the top six, and I think that's good. We want to cement our place in there in the next month. The month of January is a month we can consolidate ourselves in there. If we continue the performances we've had recently then we'll go on and do well.  The last time we played them was a good game but decisions went against us, The pitch is not playing very well at the minute but hopefully we can get ourselves in a position where we can win the game."

Dec 31st on Preparing  for the Buddies...“We wanted to work on grass and going down the coast was the best option.  I didn’t want to damage our pitch because it’s already heavy but I also wanted us to train on relevant surfaces. We were struggling to find somewhere until Kilwinning Sports Club offered us the use of their driving range. Fortunately there weren’t many golf balls lying around for us to clear up. When we played Dundee United recently they’d been training on grass while we’d been on a synthetic surface. To go from that to a soft pitch like porridge meant our lads were running on empty for the last 30 minutes. People overlook the fact St Mirren have invested for the top six.”

Dec 30th on Extending Dean Shiels Loan From Doncaster... "I'm talking away and trying to make some headway but there is no headway. Unless Dean gets a good move, he should spend the rest of the season here. It's really hard. There might be a few other outs but we'll have a look at it and see,"

Dec 28th on the Saints Post-Match..."We created some great chances but their goalkeeper made some fantastic saves.   I was told before the game that he wasn't in the best of form, but he walked away with the man of the match award.  His save from Heffernan came at a crucial point in the game.  It's getting a bit tedious saying the same things after games, but we put so much in again and walked away with nothing. Maybe 2012 will bring us better fortune. The players are disappointed and they feel very hard done by. I understand why."   Match Report

Dec 24th on the Celtic Post-Match... "The duration of the first half was 46 minutes and something unique happened - they scored in the 47th minute. It was seven seconds away from 47 minutes and the players felt hard done by. The referee got it wrong and that was disappointing. It can happen to anyone but if we had gone in level at the interval it could have been a different outcome. It was hard for the lads to take. Our centre half slipped and it went to 2-0 and the big disappointment for me was that there was a resignation, a 'give-up' attitude and I didn't like that."  Match Report

Dec 23rd on the Celtic Pre-Match... "We were really unfortunate not to take three points (in the 3-3 draw) and I think Celtic know that.  We are going out to try and remedy that.  They are thankful they got away with a point here. We are the ones who should be fired up because we are disappointed we didn't win the game based on the performance. We are up against a really tough opponent who are unplayable at the moment. nThey have very good players. That's the key to it and they have got used to playing together and there is good cohesion in the team. We have won two and drawn two of the last four, and conceded two goals, since the Inverness debacle, We're looking forward to seeing what we can get for Parkhead.
On Dean Shiels Fitness... "He will train tomorrow hopefully, If he can strike a ball then we will go for it.  He could be ready for Parkhead but the St Johnstone game is probably more realistic and more important."

Dec 21st on Offering Manuel Pascali a New 3 Year Contract..."We have been very happy with the way he has performed and trying to tie him up. We would be delighted if he could do that. Manny is a very good leader and he has taken more responsibility into his game. He is a model professional and a very good bloke — and has a great rapport with the other players. He is so keen to do well and is a very proud man. That is just the sort of person you want as your leader."

Dec 17th on the Arabs Post-Match...  "When you concede a late equaliser you always feel disappointed, but overall our players were on their knees with 20 minutes to go,  We did well in the second half and squeezed the flair out of United but the players were so tired.  We haven't been able to train on grass for four weeks and that had a big impact, I am convinced of that. I had four or five players that needed to come off late on in the game, I took (Paul) Heffernan, (Gary) Harkins and James Dayton off as they were the players furthest up the field.  It was a fantastic goal, absolutely brilliant, It was just disappointing we weren't able to hold on, the players' legs were gone."  Match Report

Dec 16th on the Way Forward for the SPL... “Scottish football has to grow from within. It’s testimony to the league’s quality that Sammon and Bryson went to England’s top two divisions. The legacy of those moves is the quality of the SPL is diluted. That’s why we have to be more futuristic in our approach. Liam Kelly, for instance, will become Killie’s new Bryson and Johnny Russell at Dundee United will compensate for the loss of David Goodwillie.”

Dec 15th on Christmas Eve Football...  "Christmas Eve isn't about football - it's about men making a late dash to the shops to get something for the wife. The 24th is there for those of us who need to make a belated blind-side run for the high street - not going to matches that take us miles away from home. That's why I can't believe I will be at Celtic Park with Kilmarnock on December 24 for a league match. The day is about last-minute shopping and not last-minute goals. Why have we reverted from the traditional Boxing Day fixture list? December 26 is a sporting day, with football and horse racing on the card, and it has been for decades. Forcing clubs to play on Christmas Eve is going to have a negative impact on crowds, and, as we saw at McDiarmid Park on Tuesday, gates are a problem that urgently need addressing. Our game with Celtic was, to make matters even worse, originally scheduled for a 3pm start. Even if a Killie fan was thinking over the idea of going to the match and attempting a bit of shopping afterwards that kick-off would have deemed the notion impossible. Now it's a 1.30pm kick-off but our supporters still have to negotiate a busy Glasgow city centre before seeing if they can even get a train back to Ayrshire and their families. I find it all as unfathomable as I found the decision to postpone our game at Dunfermline last Saturday, and as baffling as the decision to start in Perth in front of 1607 people. Those two judgements, plus the folly of a Christmas Eve card in the SPL, have one common denominator. Fans have been short changed at a time when the customer is supposed to be king. Who would run the risk of upsetting the family by travelling too far from home on December 24? Who would take young kids out in a storm to see a match in Perth when police were advising against travel? Who would call off a game when there was mist, and not fog, getting ready to go as quickly as it had arrived in Fife? I'm no weather expert but I know coastal fog comes and goes quickly. By the same token, I am a football man and I know if the ball won't stay stationary to allow a keeper to take a bye-kick then there's no way the game should be on. Whether it's scheduling or calloffs, fans must be treated with more respect in these difficult times. They are the ones inconvenienced for no good reason after they've set off. And they're being short changed when other matches are allowed to start with no hope of any value for money on the park. As for Christmas Eve? It might have been helpful if there was greater consultation before these decisions are taken. I love football and I've worked in the game a long time, like a lot of people involved with SPL clubs.

Dec 12th on Squad Planning For 2012..."I won't sign a player unless someone else goes out and there will be more players leaving than arriving because I'm trying to reduce the size of our squad. What happened in July and August was that our chairman gave me total backing. We had lost 15 or 16 players at the end of last season so I had very little time in which to sign not just first-team players but also a new squad. Now with such a mass influx of players there have been mistakes made. Bringing in so many footballers in such a short space of time that was inevitable. These things happen in football but some of those players just haven't measured up to my expectations. I have to take some criticism for that but what I will say is that I was left in a no-win situation. I had to bring in people good enough to play in this division. Yes, there have been a few mistakes but that's not too bad when you look at the ones who haven't been. We were everyone's favourites to go down and I had to provide a short-term fix. However, some of those guys are getting in the way of my youth development. That's why more players will be leaving because some of the ones coming into contention will be from our youth team. Five travelled for last weekend's game at Dunfermline. That's the way forward." 

Dec 10th on the Pars Post-Match...   Match Report

Dec 9th on the Pars Pre-Match... "Losing 6-3 to Caley Thistle was the best thing that ever happened to us! It's amazing, but it gave the players the jolt they needed. Just because we are in the top six doesn't mean we are better than the teams four or five places below us and that has to be our attitude. My season ticket holders have seen 38 goals this season, 24 scored by us, and that's more than any other SPL club and we're proud of that. East End Park is second after us for goals and that tells us there should be chances on Saturday."

Dec 8th....."The game against Aberdeen shouldn't have been played,  It was a really bad day.  And the recent Motherwell versus Dundee United game shouldn't have been played. If it still as windy as it is today, it will put the Dunfermline game in doubt. We couldn't train because the training centre in Glasgow closed. We were the benefactors of the weather against Aberdeen. James Fowler kicked it up the park, the ball hovered in the air and there was a misjudgment by their defender (for Killie's first goal).  So we benefited from it but it affected how the team performed, the passing wasn't good.  We got a result but I hope we can get back to playing football the way we can. There should be total priority to the product and if it is like the way it is today, the Dunfermline game shouldn't be played."
Scouting Update....."There are a couple of key positions where we need cover and I'm just back from Europe looking at players. "I have to make sure that when I'm shopping it is well within our budget. There are players down the leagues I like but that costs money, development fees, down payments and that sort of thing. We have that situation in Britain and so they are out-priced at times."
On Ben Hutchinson leaving for Mansfield Town in January..... "It has been difficult for Ben to get in so Mansfield could be a good option for him,"
On Son Dean's Fitness..."Dean is in the treatment room. He is struggling for this weekend but we'll just need to wait and see with him. On a more positive note, Liam Kelly is expected to feature at East End park having shaken off a debilitating virus. We're hopeful he will be okay and it would be good to get him back as he's a good player,  Liam was floored by a virus that went around the club. Leon Panikvar and Momo Sissoko both had it and Billy Berntsson has it just now. But we hope it is away now and no-one else will get it."

Dec 4th on Blooding Youth in the Killie First Team..."The young ones are repaying my faith in them and that's encouraging for our long-term plan. It's important to stick to that if you want to build - but it's also important that we can consolidate our position while doing so. It's courage more than anything - there are times when you think 'If I put him in is he ready, could he cost me my job?' But it's the way I am and it's the way forward for football in Scotland. I'm going to make some mistakes but if we can develop our kids we'll be ahead of the pack."
On Gary Fisher... "It is good for the kids to know the manager's interested in their progress. Gary has been here since he was 12 and has great pride when he goes out on the pitch on a matchday. If we make the top six it's an outrageous achievement. We're building a team using young players. It's a high-risk game and until we get that perfected we will experience disappointments, happiness, disappointments, then happiness again - but that's the way it's going to be. I've got ideas in my head for January, the players that we will have to let go and players that we're bringing in. It's all wheels in motion for that one. There will be changes but they must be for the better."

Dec 3rd on the Dons Post Match..."I am really pleased with getting the three points but I feel hollow inside. There is no point in being hypocritical.  We lost against St Johnstone when we dominated, we were really good that day.  We lost by three at St Mirren and we played really well and today we didn't play well. It is the old cliche about performances and outcomes and the outcome was really good but I'm not happy with the way we played. I am probably being harsh on the players. I have sat in this chair and said we deserved to win and we've lost. I want you to understand that those were not excuses, but honest reasons as to why I felt we were hard done by. I'm not saying we didn't deserve to win because Aberdeen, like us, didn't produce a good performance. But maybe my expectations are too high, the players have done fantastically well this season."   Match Report

Dec 2nd on the Pressures of Being an SPL Manager... "There has to be an understanding. The pathway for professional football clubs of our ilk is to grow from the bottom, to grow your own players.  That takes time — it doesn't happen in a day or even in a season. That's a five-season thing. And anyone who grows from within should be given at least a five-season contract. That's my opinion. People who adopt that approach, Peter Houston at Dundee United and others like him, should be given five years. If you have a purposeful plan then chairmen should be thinking 'Let's start being innovative'.  They should look at the template and the long-term, short-term and medium-term plan of that manager. If that philosophy is right for the club then stick with it for five years. Our plan is in process. We've got four kids on four-year contracts whom we see as being potential long-term first-team players. Consequently, there will probably be another 6-3 defeat in there for us somewhere this season. What people have to understand is that if I'm going into the market for players then, with our wage structure and infrastructure, I'm not going to get a Steve Davis, Steven Naismith, Steven Whittaker or Scott Brown. I'm going to be getting players that need some work done otherwise we wouldn't get them. Let's be honest. Because of that, that's going to develop inconsistent periods in how we play through mistakes and poor distribution, maybe poor temperament. There's going to be issues or flaws in their make-up otherwise I wouldn't get them. That's the task I — and a lot of managers at clubs of our size — face. Craig Brown, boss of tomorrow's opponents Aberdeen, is in that group. I've been under pressure and now it's Craig.(Brown)  It fluctuates. It's just a different manager every week in Scotland.  If we win then it deepens his pressure and if they get a result it's someone else — a few weeks ago it was Terry Butcher and then me after they beat us. If you take a look at the infrastructure of Aberdeen and Hibernian then you would expect them to be in and around the top six. And they're not far off it because of the compact nature of the league. We're seven points off bottom. I'm glad that's widened a bit but that could be back to four points. But you feel for your fellow managers and you don't want anyone to lose their job. It is an industry where there is a lot of onus and responsibility put on managers. It can be a very lonely place at times when you work so hard to do the job. I'm sure Craig works as hard as the next guy. Craig was challenging his own needs when he took the Aberdeen job. Don't forget he turned it down initially and then had a rethink. He's gone up there and he's only been in the job a year. I have a good chairman who says 'let's see if Shiels can do this'. He understands my planning. Craig deserves similar support. I've watched him coach a lot. He's a great tutor of coaches and players, a fantastic communicator, articulate and eloquent with great way of getting points across. He'd be a great person to learn from. Aberdeen are the benefactors of that — people just look at the results and where they're at."

Dec 1st on the Importance of the Dons Match...""Aberdeen come to Rugby Park on Saturday for the most important game of Kilmarnock's season. It throws down a challenge to my players to reveal the depth of their individual and collective strength of character. It's one thing to beat Rangers and record an achievement that was 17 years in the making. It's another thing entirely to beat the team who are second bottom of the table but are as good, if not better than, us. We have milked the publicity that comes with a triumph over Rangers. Now we have to clutch at any advantage that comes our way against Craig Brown's side because everyone knows the crowd will drop from last weekend and the intensity of the atmosphere will lessen. After the win against Rangers I said I yearned for the day when people from Kilmarnock supported their local team and not the Old Firm.
But I do realise there was an element of hypocrisy in that statement. Rangers brought live television to our ground and that helps us financially. They also brought thousands of fans who created a sense of occasion. But that doesn't stop me highlighting my belief a tight community creates spirit and a sense of cause in football. I've always held the view it's galling to see your next door neighbour going to watch someone else rather than the side who play where he or she lives. I worked in Ballymena and watched some people there go on the boat to watch Rangers instead of their local team. In North Belfast, where Cliftonville play, fans are lost to Celtic every week. In East Belfast, Glentoran's side of town, Rangers are the dominant club instead of the team at the end of the road. That's what's killing the game in Northern Ireland. Dublin has a population of one million but Shamrock Rovers' green and white hooped jerseys draw an average gate of 3000 while fans are lost to Celtic Park. There are 45,000 people living in Kilmarnock. I know it would be unrealistic to hope for a five-figure crowd at home matches. What town, or city, would get a quarter of the population going to see the team named after it? Burnley might just about achieve that because they're almost freakish on a pro-rata basis but it's not a statistic available to most of us. But I'd still like to see as many people as possible who can afford to be there turn out to see us play Aberdeen.
I know children follow their dads and support the club that's been handed down from generation to generation but I stand by my assertion that if you are born in Kilmarnock, you should support Kilmarnock. We have an Edinburgh Kilmarnock supporters' bus but that's because they're being faithful to their heritage. That's the kind of feeling for the club I'd love to see catch fire in our town and Manny Pascali's goal against Rangers gave me the opportunity to get up on my soap box in front of a larger than normal crowd in the press room. Meanwhile, my priority is to give our hard-core support something to cheer about on a weekly basis. And to do that means contradicting the progress of a league where predictability has almost become outlawed this season.  For example, we've lost twice to Inverness and they're bottom of the league. But last weekend we beat the team who have been champions for the past three years. There's no consistency and that applies in particular to clubs where there is a need to grow your team in the face of transfers periodically reducing your options. We lost Connor Sammon, Mehdi Taouil, Craig Bryson and Frazer Wright, to name but a few, in two windows last season. When January arrives someone else might be going from my squad but I look forward to that challenge. I think of myself as a developmental coach and I've been responding to teambuilding challenges for all of my professional life behind the scenes. For instance, I take pride from continuing the good work that was started by my predecessors where Liam Kelly is concerned. He was released by MK Dons and reinvented by Kilmarnock and I'd be proud if there was interest shown in Liam or anyone else at our club once the window opens. That's to our credit and nothing to be afraid of. And it gives me huge satisfaction to go on getting even more out of older players such as James Fowler and Garry Hay. Now, whether they're young or old, I have to pose my players a big question on Saturday. I'm challenging them to have the professionalism to perform at a high standard in a game that's not live on television and doesn't feature either half of the Old Firm. I'm not deliberately trying to talk down what happened against Rangers because I know negativity will always dominate positivity if you let it. I simply want the players to appreciate what happened against Rangers is a fragrant memory but it's in the past."

Nov 27th on the Gers Post Match...  ""It was a great result for us. We spoke about this during the week. I've been on the receiving end of things like this in the past. I felt we could win this game if we worked in certain areas. It worked really well for us. Destiny has a part to play in these things at times. Rangers hit the post, Alejandro Bedoya had a chance at the end. When you lose a match like they did, sometimes you just need to say it wasn't to be. I think the bad luck we've had this season, if we can call it that, was cancelled out. I don't want that to take away from the players' performance, though. We have a good chemistry in there. It was a collective performance.They must do the same to Aberdeen next week, otherwise their victory will be meaningless. Usually we turn victories into draws. This can only help with their self-belief. I took the kids into the dressing room at full-time. I told them to look at the senior pros. Guys like Manuel Pascali and Garry Hay, the example they showed today. It's part of the young players' responsibility to develop that. What it means to us is that it must help our self-belief. There's no point just turning up for the Old Firm games. We've got Aberdeen next week and if we don't perform to the same level then all this will have been pointless. We've got to turn up for games outside of the Old Firm. It's been such a long haul waiting for Kilmarnock to beat Rangers. We put a lot of effort into the psychology and the shirts we were playing. We did some work on tactics, but a lot of the work this week was mental. This has been my most satisfying win, definitely. It takes a magnificent effort to beat the Old Firm and you need a little bit of luck here and there. When it happens it becomes really self-satisfying, but it's the summer and the swallow thing. We have to go on now. But listen, we could have lost that game 1-0 and I would still have been proud had they given me everything they had. There's no point shouting from the rooftops over a result like this if we can't do it against other teams. There were similarities with the Celtic game. We were 3-0 up before they had a shot. People forget that. They didn't walk all over us to get back into it, it was a free-kick. We nullified certain areas in how both Celtic and Rangers played. You're always going to get done by exceptional quality. I always had it in the back of my head Nikica Jelavic was going to do something. Sone Aluko was tidy as well. I worried they had the tricks to hurt us. If we could get to them early and restrict their space then I knew we had a chance. Despite 9,506 turning up for this one, the majority of punters took up the away ends. People in Motherwell should support Motherwell. People in Paisley should support St Mirren, People in Kilmarnock should support Kilmarnock. Football is our national sport and we can't overlook that. I'm really pleased for the people of the town who have stuck by Kilmarnock. I can't come to terms with people who live here and support the Old Firm. I'm still trying to get my head round that. But this win makes it more satisfactory for the supporters who've waited 17 years for the result.". Match Report

Nov 24th on Rangers Sunday Visit..."Circumstances now are so much better than they were in the build-up to the last Rangers visit to Rugby Park. I suspect there were a few players protecting themselves ahead of moves to other clubs.  We'd already achieved a top-six place.  I also had so many injury and suspension problems. We were depleted mentally and physically, while Rangers simply could not have been more motivated as they went for the league. They went 3-0 ahead after seven minutes and that was an embarrassing time for me. In that situation as a manager it goes through your head it could be double figures. I'd done my preparation, but that was with players who knew they weren't going to be at the club the next season. It also went through my mind that my hopes of getting the job could be over. But even worse was seeing fans leaving after just seven minutes of the game. That was hard and I felt so disappointed for them. I am grateful that my chairman still had the foresight to give me the job. Many a less intelligent man than him would have panicked and decided to look elsewhere.  I think it's 17 years since we've beaten Rangers at home. But we have to believe we can do it. I'm not asking the players to be better than Rangers or Dunfermline or Hibs for that matter. All I want is for the players to give their best and to be true to themselves."

Nov 23rd on Heffernan's Fitness for Sunday..."Paul is struggling and we don't know if he is going to be ready or not for Sunday.  He just made it and no more for the Hibs game but whether it was a week too early or not we don't know."
On Patrick Ada's Future..."Patrick is strong and quick but he has to learn how we play things from the back. He is working away on things in training and he'll keep learning."

Nov 19th on the Hibs Post Match... "It feels more like a defeat, We went forward in reams and reams because we felt such an injustice to be 1-1. The goalkeeper (Jaakkola) made a mistake and it was unbelievable what happened from there, how we didn't win it. There was a lot of mistakes made and there was one person of the 23 starting participants whose ineptitude had a major, major influence on us not winning the game. There was a lot of things happening that weren't punished." Match Report

Nov 18th on Billy Brown Getting the Hibs Job..."I would love to see it. He has been in football for a long time and he deserves it in his own right.  He has worked hard and I'm sure his players will work hard for him. It can only help him to improve the players - they will see that desire and it will rub off on them. He will be professional and do the job to the best of his ability. Billy will know it's about getting them to believe in him and making sure they know he has a chance of being their boss for the future as well. He has to try to convince them of that. If I equate it to my own position at the end of last season, that was different.  Half my team were injured and the other half had made  commitments to other clubs and were going. My situation was totally different to Billy's.  For Billy's players, Hibs is their immediate future so I think he can really instil a lot of camaraderie and good positive energy. He's that type of man so I'm sure they will be working hard for him and for Hibernian Football Club.
On the Hibs Match..."It's vital that we perform and it's important we get a result. It's important to us that we get back winning again."

Nov 11th on Signing McKeon & Fisher Thru May 2015... "We are producing a conveyor belt of younger players on four-year contracts that have incentives in there because we are building for the future."

Nov 8th More on the Caley Humping..."I don't want to come out with a knee-jerk reaction. We have to get our act together and recover some confidence against Hibs."

Nov 5th on the Caley Post Match...  "We were beaten by a better team on the day and we have to take that on the chin, regroup and get ready for our next league game. We're not as good as what people said we were. We understand that and we need to improve and keep working at it.  We made mistakes today and we were punished for them. The boys were warning up to come on, only because I felt we had that momentum at 1-1,  But then the young left-back stands off Hayes. He was warned about him coming inside and he had a free shot at goal. The keeper shouldn't have been beaten.  For every goal we conceded there was two or three mistakes in it. We go chasing it and we leave holes at the back. But these things happen in football. We are a positive group of people and we will make sure we are ready for the next game. I don't want to come out with a knee-jerk reaction. We'll be preparing professionally, as we always do, and we'll take a look at who is performing and who is ready for the next game. We were passing the ball quite well at times. We had some good passages of play."    Match Report
    
Nov 4th on Keeping Dean Shiels... "Talks are ongoing, but not directly with Doncaster. I have spoken with Dean about it this week.  His contract expires on January 16 and the semis are the 28th so as it stands he won't be here. He's a key player but we have other players who are good as well."
On Playing Caley..."Your bread and butter is the league. Players aren't stupid, they know that. Only 12 teams can be in the SPL under the structure. There are 40 senior clubs so that's the Holy Grail, to be in the SPL. It's still early days yet, there are only 13 games played in the league so far.  They beat us the last time we played them so we know they are no pushovers. They are not the whipping boys, far from it. If they can get a result, I'm sure they have a good enough team to get a run going. They didn't give us any time or space the last time but hopefully we can get a few goals past them this weekend, but I'm sure Terry Butcher will have them up for this game."
On Liam Boyce's Trial... "He played in a practice game but we need more time. His match sharpness needs to be improved,  It is between windows and, maybe if it had been January and he had become available, we would not have had as long with him. It is good timing for us as it means he can spend more time with us to help us make our decision. He likes the club, he likes the people and he feels there is a good group of lads here. He feels comfortable in this environment."

Nov 2nd on Getting A*r in the League Cup Semi's..."It is the tie I wanted — not because we think Ayr is any easier but for a number of reasons. There is the profile it will bring for Kilmarnock and the intensity of a derby match in a semi-final. And there is not facing Celtic. If we are truthful, all three of us wanted to avoid Celtic because they are the superior team left in the tournament. Twenty thousand at Hampden would be swallowed up, It would deflate the atmosphere. Everyone says there could be 30,000 at this but I don’t know. Tynecastle would be great. I know that would be two teams from the west of Scotland travelling to the east, but that might add to the whole occasion and make it a day out. What a day it would be through there. It may come down to how many tickets the SFL think the clubs can sell.”

Oct 29th on the Hearts Post Match... "The referee had a fantastic game. He's given the penalty, he sent off a player, he maybe could've sent off another couple. We know that Hearts are the most aggressive team in the league and we prepared in that manner. "We had to stand up to that today - we were ready for a battle. I think we showed courage by not getting involved. They were claiming for everything. It was a joke at times. It just went on and on and on. Aggression is good in football, but uncontrolled aggression maybe isn't as good. I think the bad temper was only coming from one side. I know we can always win the football battle but you can lose these games and we were a bit slap shod today - we weren't at our best. Today you got a good example of a footballing team coming out on top. I felt justice was done. We got our first bit of luck this season when we under performed and got a good result. I don't like talking about digging in and showing character - I'd rather talk about invention and creativity and I'm disappointed that wasn't there today.  Ian Black is a fantastic footballer and I've seen him a lot. He's got to take that out of his game if he wants to progress his career.  If it was a penalty, I feel it has to be a red card, There were a lot of players who were lucky to stay on the pitch in the Hearts team."  Match Report 

Oct 28th on the Hearts Pre-Match..."We are feeling good about the progress we have made. We are one point off the top six and we are in the semi-finals of the League Cup. To do that with a team that's just been put together, it's a remarkable place to be. I'm happy with the way things are progressing."

Oct 25th on the East Fife Post-Match... "Ogleby was doing really well but he let his team down, the two fouls were needless, When you have a yellow card in the can, you have to be careful.  Part-time players did their manager and their club proud, and the Second Division, I remember watching them beat Dunfermline and then three days later they lost 6-0 against Dumbarton at home.  It just shows you what a human being can do if they put effort into something and they were brilliant, the way they worked and got behind the ball. They put their units in the bottom third of the pitch and it made it difficult for us to invent. I thought it was going to be one of those nights and that was testament to how they played. But fair play to our boys, we were patient, we had composure."  Match Report 
On The Prospect of Playing A*r..."When I came to the club, they told me Kilmarnock v Ayr was the second biggest derby in the world behind Barcelona and Real Madrid!  It's mouth-watering that one, I'm told. Even the little villages around the area, some are Ayr fans and some are Killie."

Oct 24th on the East Fife Pre-Match..."I was at the Dunfermline game. I just went along to watch the game and, lo and behold, we end up meeting them in the cup so I'm glad I did now.  East Fife is a tricky one. We will be looking to start our best team. Of course it acts as a warning what they have done and that's why we will go strong. We have to make sure that we don't miss the opportunity to reach the last four.  I'm just thinking about East Fife and putting out a strong team to see if we can beat them. We know they will be coming in a positive frame of mind. They are on a winning run at the minute but we are a couple of leagues above them and we've got a home draw and we should be thankful of that and we will be working hard."

Oct 22nd on The Well Post-Match... "It's another draw that we needed to turn into a victory.  "We came, as we always do, to win the game with an attacking philosophy and it didn't happen for us again.  I'd like to get my emotions balanced because I'm really disappointed for the players and supporters because yet again we got it tactically right. We took the football out of Motherwell - their quality was reduced because they had to change from invention and creativity to playing a little bit more direct and trying to get in behind our young full-backs. That's an option they chose, I'm not being critical. It was testament to how we kept the ball and our invention and creativity was prevalent again. We're going through a trend where we're drawing matches that we really should be winning on the balance of play,  Motherwell are a very good team and they played well in spells but from 15 minutes before half-time to the end of the game, apart from a five-minute spell, we had that authority where we looked threatening. Gary Harkins and Dean Shiels ran the show, they are two players who are on top of their game." Match Report

Oct 21st on The Well Pre-Match... "They have had an exceptional start. They have a lot going for them and they are not in a false position. They have merited where they are in the league."

Oct 19th on Taking Liam Boyce on Trial... "Liam Boyce is here for a couple of weeks. We are looking at his career and how we can help him to get back into the professional game. I think we have the right stable to provide him with the opportunity. Certainly he knows that I'm a developmental coach and we will try to look at ways in which He's from my patch at home but I don't know a lot about the boy, I have only seen him play once. He wasn't in the youth squads or the development programme when I was there but he has come on late and did very well at Cliftonville before he went to Germany. I haven't had the opportunity to see him play a lot but I know he's got good qualities, he can score goals and he's got good ability on the ball. Certainly he is one we would look at."

Oct 19th on Keeping Son Kenny at Rugby Park... "We're trying to extend Dean's loan, We're trying to see if we can do that.  We'll sit down and talk with Dean and Doncaster. I've not had talks with Doncaster yet, but I plan to. I want to extend it and hopefully we can do. Dean is a top player and he helps the team a lot. He has done well since he came but we didn't expect anything less than that as he's a creative midfielder. That's the type of player we need for the way we play so hopefully we can keep him here."

Oct 15th on the Celtic Post-Match... "I'm so proud of the players, the effort they put in and the way they played.  We were comfortable with 19 minutes to go when we were 3-0 up. There are things you can't legislate for, two free-kicks have done us again. I can't fault the commitment and effort of the players. We haven't been getting any breaks at all, I think the neutral observer would say we deserved to win. At 3-3 we were still going for the winning goal. We weren't trying to close the game out. We've played like that in every game, but because it is Celtic and we get a wee bit of a rub and go three goals up, people will congratulate us on our performance. But we played like that against St Mirren and St Johnstone and Rangers. We could be sitting in the top three, we're just not getting the rub." Match Report

Oct 14th on the Celtic Pre-Match... “Kilmarnock have a way of playing and we are just having a run of misfortune and other teams are getting the rub of the green.  At this moment we are not having any luck but we are not feeling sorry for ourselves. We plug away and hope that changes.  I don’t know what is going to be inside the Celtic players’ heads. Will the re be a certain amount of caution or fear about losing another one? I don’t know that. If a team as big as Celtic has lost a game it might cast doubts in their minds but they have too many good players for it to have a negative impact.  If there is some caution in there we are going to play to seize the opportunity and get a result. We went ahead twice against Celtic in the SPL last term and lost both times. With our next game being against Celtic here in Kilmarnock then that factor is quite relevant.  Getting in front in those circumstances was slightly different last season as Celtic had momentum and they had confidence.  If we could get into the lead this Saturday it would be a great psychological advantage for us. We’ve lost our last three games but in every one we felt we deserved to win.  Sometimes after a defeat it stays in people’s minds but as a group we have worked on the positive side of things during the international break.  I don’t think our players are lacking in confidence, we’re just lacking in wins. We have lost our last three matches but I don’t believe it has taken away our confidence as we know we have played well in all of them. We just keep talking about that performance we have in us. We have the nucleus of a winning team in terms of how we have been playing, we just need to start winning now.”

Oct 1st on the Saints Post-Match...  "We have our philosophy, and we stay faithful to it. If that means us not progressing up the table then so be it.  I've been down this road a lot. You have a footballing philosophy, where you tell your players to express themselves on the ball. My centre-half tries to bring the ball down and miscontrols it and it causes a goal. How can I criticise him when I tell him to do that? When Mixu [Paatelainen] and I were here we went on a period of losing four or five games on the bounce and people start to question you, and you've got to be strong. It would be hypocritical for me to start playing in a different way and I will not do that.  I think in every game this season we have entertained the paying public. We haven't had any luck this week, and sometimes you get that in football. I think anyone that knows anything about the game would agree we deserved to win today.
On His Side Being Booed Off The Field... "That's their frustration and I don't mind. They are in an emotional state of imbalance, as I am, after you lose a game of football." Match Report

Sept 30th on the Saints Pre-Match... "St Johnstone are capable of beating us.  They've made investments on several players capable of putting them into the top six. Cillian Sheridan, Francisco Sandaza and Callum Davidson, along with our former player, Frazer Wright, are all excellent acquisitions. Several of the players St Johnstone signed in the summer were on my mind as well but I couldn't get to the stage of talking to them. They're above us in the league and St Johnstone is a go-ahead club. Anybody who scores goals, like Sandaza and Sheridan, is good for a team."

Sept 29th Clarification of His Broadfoot (Gers) Comments..."It was just banter. I'm going to be cliched from now on. I'm going to be boring and mundane and I'm going to take that into my press conferences. - More

Sept 27th on the Gers Post-Match... "It's just the set-piece that's done us, We've gone behind at the set-piece, then we hit the bar and they counter-attacked us and score a second, that's just football.  We looked quite secure, then we don't defend the set-piece, They hadn't really got behind us to threaten us and I thought we'd stifled their imagination. We had good composure and we got in behind their lines at times - not as much as we'd have liked because you have to respect the quality that they have. These are only starting positions (started 3 central defenders) It's about what's in the player's mind. It's not about 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 or whatever people talk about.  It's about getting into creative positions. It doesn't matter if you play seven at the back, as long as you attack in units and try to penetrate from there. I thought we could have done more of that but there have been some positive things come out of tonight's game for us." Match Report

Sept 26th on the Gers Pre-Match... "We have adaptations. When you're playing the best, you have to adapt how you're playing. We're no different.  We are addressing that and trying to improve that area of our team.  It's a good place to see if we have got that improvement, at Ibrox. It's a chance to get us back to a positive frame of mind. You will see us passing the ball. We will work hard, pass the ball and see where it gets us. If it gets us a victory, I'll be delighted."t for Killie, if not for the SPL.
On Naisy Being Suspended... "I think he is a great player for the league, a fantastic entertaining player, (who) scores fantastic goals. It would be better for us if he's not playing, anyone in my position would say that. But Rangers supporters have been entertained by him and it's important those types of players are in the league."

Sept 24th on the Buddies Post-Match... "I was very disappointed in that but I'm not allowed to be honest because if you go too near honesty then you get yourself and your club in trouble, I didn't say anything to the linesman at half-time, I just looked at him in an inquisitive manner because I am conscious of the fact you are not allowed to speak because they can become very defensive. The thing that bemused me most was that the referee was in a very good position and didn't give it. That is the disappointing thing because you prepare your team all week, you prepare them for certain strengths and weaknesses that the other team have, and you work really hard at your job, and then someone else who is external from that who you can't legislate for has such an impact."
On St Mirren's third goal... "The cross has come over and Hasselbaink has pushed (Mohamadou) Sissoko before heading it into the net. I've just seen it again on the video and it's disappointing but having said that I didn't think we were going to get back into the game at that stage."  Match Report

Sept 23rd on the Buddies Pre-Match... "I am sure the purists will want to watch this game and I'm sure the geography and locality will lend itself towards a decent crowd.  We have watched them quite a lot and they are a very good team. They are putting on a good style of football and I reckon that potentially this could be the best game in the league this Saturday."

Sept 22nd on Drawing East Fife in the Lge Cup... "East Fife are no mugs, I have already seen them twice this season and they have some very good players so we will treat them with the same respect with which we treated Queen of the South. I think the players on Tuesday night showed that we don't underestimate anyone. I spoke to the players this morning and praised them for their attitude, discipline and commitment, it was 100 per cent bang on and we must keep doing that in every game we play. I am really happy with the home draw, that was our priority to so to do that and avoid some of the big clubs is what you want, This competition means a lot to the club and we have treated the tournament with that respect right from the start. We have put out our strongest team and I must say that is the way we will always work. The temptation is there to give some of the younger players the chance which I want to try to do but my remit is cup runs first and work that around developing the young players."

Sept 20 on the QoS Post-Match... "It's important to the people of Kilmarnock that we get a cup run. The ambition of this club has to be to get a good run in cup competitions as well as consolidating in the league. It is part of my remit as manager to make sure we achieve that. We had concerns that this was going to be a tricky game and we worked very hard in our preparations to make sure we didn't treat them with any disrespect." Match Report

Sept 19 on the QoS Pre-Match..."We have to be very careful. They have very, very good players in their team and it gives us a challenge. It's not going to be an easy game. They have beaten Hamilton and Morton and they have beaten them well.  I think it would be very arrogant of us if we went in with the attitude that we are expected to win. Look at East Fife, who turned over Dunfermline. These things can happen. There is going to be one shock this week and we have to make sure it's not us."

Sept 17th on the Dons Post-Match..."If you were to assess our form you would say we are entertaining, creative and fragile. In our last three games we have conceded two in every game which means we would have had to have scored nine goals to have won the three games. The fact we didn't win the match is down to not being able to defend bread and butter situations. To not be able to defend a long throw-in is bordering on the ridiculous and I was really disappointed with that. I think it tells its own story that the left back and the centre-half scored Aberdeen's goals. Both our goals were inventive and they were a component of the product we are trying to produce. I'm pleased with those two goals but as it turned out we needed to score three."    Match Report

Sept 16th on the Dons Pre-Match... “It will be a tough game. Aberdeen are a good, solid team, playing with a lot of mobility, and although they’ve had a dip recently, they will bounce back.  They had a great result against Hibs on Sunday and they’ll be looking to build on that. Anybody can beat anybody in this league at the moment.  It is such a tight league and often boils down to who is having a great day and who is having an off day. We just have to try and be at our best every game. I don’t like looking too far ahead and I am concentrating on the Aberdeen game for the moment, but the Queen of the South game will be a tough one, no doubt".
On Teams Start... “I don’t think you can go by the tables at the moment, they’ve not formed yet and all it takes is for some of the teams at the bottom to get a run of results and the whole thing changes.They are not a realistic picture at the moment. It was a great result and keeps us buoyant. We played well, but we were a little leaky at the back.  It was important we signed Sissoko to help our defence, but it is also important that he puts in a lot of practice.”

Sept 10th on the Pars Post-Match...  "I have got mixed feelings after the game, the outcome of course was brilliant but there were some things I wasn't so pleased at. On the ball we were good but off the ball there are a few things that need improvement. I am sure it was very good for the fans but for the managers perhaps not so much. We are slowly creeping away from the foot of the table which is very important as there is obviously a lot of pressure down there. In certain areas we were exceptional but as I've said before it's going to take time to get to the level where I want us to be. Before I made a personal target of averaging a point and two-thirds a game and we are slightly below that at the moment without having played the Old Firm."  Match Report

Sept 9th on the Pars Pre-Match... It is a game we feel we can win and we’ve been doing a lot of work on certain things at training to get a result. The players got a bit of a rest at the end of last week but we've been working on how we can add something to our game that makes us less predictable. We're starting to achieve that and you'll see a new product. It's not a change, it's an addition to how we play. We've added to our armoury in how we can produce good football. We could be sitting with maximum points and that's not being derogatory to our opponents. You have to be inventive and imaginative. We have to look at ways we can outfox each other and think very deeply about how we put teams out. We're better prepared now and can go out and give a good account of ourselves. Teams have done their homework on us. We have used contingency plans but need more contingency. We have had decent performances but I've not been happy with some of the outcomes."
On Re-Signing Momo... “His club have now put him on a new extended contract and it was more practical for us to take him on loan. I’m happy to have him back.”
On Cameroonian centre-half Patrick Ada...  “Ada is still with us. There was no pressure put on him to go. I felt putting him up for a free transfer could help our wage bill.  He is finding it difficult to adapt to our style of play but I’m happy to work with him and help him fit in.”
On Northern Ireland Under-18 international Jude Winchester ...  “He is only a young boy with plenty of time to develop. He is one for the future.”

Sept 8th on Killie's Style of Play..."Entertainment is a word which is used a lot with Kilmarnock games, We don't do boring games and everyone can see that. The Inverness defeat was still an entertaining game. We don't expect an entertaining game, we demand it from our players. If we fall short of that, we are disappointed but we are trying to marry performance with outcomes and if we can combine those two then we are laughing.  We have added an extra dimension to our game and hopefully that will be evident on Saturday. We might have become a little predictable at times in our passing so we are trying to add to our game in terms of how we can offer threats with disguise. We have worked on it all week and the players have been excellent.

Aug 27th on the Caley Post-Match...  "I have to take the blame for the ineptitude of some of the players because I picked them.  I think the result was probably just about a fair reflection of the game and I can have no complaints. However, I'm not going to blast the players. I look at the DVD  over the weekend and then I'll discuss it with the players on Monday."  Match Report

Aug 26th on the Caley Pre-Match... “Inverness have been massively unlucky so far this season, I think everyone would agree with that.  They will just be plugging away and hoping to turn their luck around and make that breakthrough eventually. We have to be at our best to make sure that doesn’t happen against us. We are in sixth and they are bottom, they will believe they can turn their fortunes around.”

Aug 25th on Tim Clancy Leaving the Club... "I've looked at the squad and I've looked at the balance and shape of it.  Tim hasn't been getting enough first-team football and he's a very good player.  I want to help Tim and, in turn, help ourselves. We are quite abundant in the full-back area and it gives me an opportunity to bring in a natural centre-half. I feel we have enough cover with the full-backs with Tim's departure and it gives Tim an opportunity to get first-team football. We are in the process of trying to bring someone (central defenders) in but we've got quite a while yet. I've been working on it all week and I've got one in training and one hopefully coming in tomorrow. I can't really say any more at the moment because the two I have in mind are good players and I don't want to alert any of our more affluent adversaries."

Aug 21st on the Hearts Post-Match... "I fear that Ryan (O'Leary) may have a cruciate - I really feel for the boy, and the big challenge for him now, if it is a cruciate, is that we have to see how strong he is and what his coping strategy is going to be for the rehabilitation period. It's a long fight to get back, but it's happened to [team-mate] James Dayton and it's happened to quite a few professional footballers, and he will get strength from people like James and our physiotherapist." On Dayton's Penalty Claim... "Blatantly obviously it was a penalty. I'm not being critical of any of the officials for that, but the guy had his arm out. The problem with a player like Dayton is that he's light and when he goes past people, because he goes over easily because of his lack of weight the first impression is that it's a dive - but it was certainly a penalty kick from where I was. However, that's clutching at straws; you have to be honest and say Hearts gave as good as they got. They came with good determination, a strong squad of players, and they gave us what for in the last 10 to 15 minutes - we struggled to get out and that resolve was quite evident in their play. I think we produced the most quality but at this moment, what we've built in a short period means we've raised expectations so people will start to think accordingly and assess it from a different viewpoint. We're undefeated in four games, against Motherwell, Dundee United, Hibs and Hearts, and they're four big clubs." Match Report

Aug 20th on the Hearts Pre-Match..."There is a thin line between confidence and over-confidence,  We have a confident mood and we have to keep it like that. But we want to look at the mistakes we made in the Hibs game that weren't punished and try to get them eliminated from our performance. Those are big things for us. We are almost where we want to be as far as the playing staff is concerned. We filled our boots with that and now we are looking to try to develop a good understanding of how we play for each game and each set of opponents. The next game is always the most important and that's what we prepare for."

Aug 18th on Signing Leon Panikvar... "We feel he has the European experience and fits into our system and fits in to our budget," Player Profile Heret

Aug 16th on Silva's Knee Ligament Damage... "David will be out for six weeks, maybe eight. It causes a problem for us because he and James Dayton had been doing well out wide for us."

Aug 14th on the Hibs Post-Match..."Of course I'm happy,  It doesn't always show on my face because your feelings are from within, but I thought it was a very, very good performance by the team. Persistence is omnipotent and it's important that when we make mistakes - which we did for their equaliser - we play it out from the back, If you revert to going long, then it defeats the principle of how we play, because a football team must have a personality. It must have expression and intelligence - and we carried all three today. We've made mistakes - last week against Blackburn we were punished, but the players showed courage - they took the ball everywhere on the pitch, and that's what we're about. That's the product we're trying to create for the paying public.  The only person that puts pressure on me is myself and, inwardly, I felt we had to win for the team first, I didn't win the match, the team did. That's the way I reflect on it, Kilmarnock's first win this season.  We are unbeaten after three games and I'm pleased we are moving in the right direction. We have reinvented the team in six weeks, that's testament to a lot of hard work that people don't see. I know you are all dying to ask me if it's a monkey off my back and it is, it's a great relief for me.  We have produced a good performance where people are allowed to express themselves. That's what creates personality, freedom to do what you feel is enjoyable, and that's what I feel we provided." Match Report

Aug 12th More on the Galan Signing... "He's a striker, he scores goals, he's quick and mobile and he brings a different type of striker to the table, that we needed. We've been working on it for a while and I'm pleased that we've got him. We've done our research and they've done their research on us as well and they are pleased that he's coming to us.  He's 22 and he needs to kick on from now. He wants to play in this type of football where it gives him more in his tool box. He certainly looks as though he can progress from here. It's been agreed in principle, it's just a few loose ends that have to be tied up and then we've got him on board. With international clearance and things like that, we don't know how soon he is going to be ready in terms of registration. It will probably be next week for the Hearts game. I think we are just about tied up with covering every position now. There is one possibly coming in over the next two days.
On the Hibs Pre-Match... "Hibernian have signed four players since their last game. They have brought in some very good players and they have added to what they had. Certainly, they are on a mission and they have made a top-six investment. I'm sure that will be a big challenge for us on Sunday. We are just trying to get a victory as we do in every game. We go in with that attitude and motivation."

Aug 10th on Signing on Loan Jorge Galan..."Jorge will make us more dominant in the final third, he'll be a good addition. I don't like taking loan players but sometimes needs must and it gives us the opportunity to work with him and help him with the next stage of his development."

July 30th on the Well Post-Match... "I would say we are lacking a wee bit of punch. We are at the early stages of reconstruction. Motherwell have a team that has been together for quite a while. They are an example of a team with cohesion and continuity.  I'm more than pleased with the direction we are moving in. You can be pedantic and pick little things about why there were no goals. The goalkeepers were very good - that's one of the reasons. But we do need to be sharper in the final third, more penetrative and productive.
On His Son Dean's Ability...  "Dean is someone who can bring that. He is both creative and productive as well. He scores goals, he creates goals. He is a player I know will help alleviate the pressure from the striker. We have got the flair to score goals." Match Report

July 28th on his 2011-12 Team Preparations  "This season we have had major problems because we are trying to rebuild and haven't had a lot of time to do it in, We have had a double whammy and we're not ready - it's as simple as that. As a result, I don't know my best team.  We have a couple but it's difficult with the budgetary situation, But the chairman has been very, very supportive. We are experimenting at the moment and that's not the right way to be. You should know your best team but we haven't had time to do that."

July 27th on his 3 Sunderland Trialists... "I wanted to monitor them in a real game and they did well.  Pelayo (Gomez) is a development player and, long-term, I would like us to build up a group of them at this club. The other two (Leon Panikvar, and Jeanvion Yulu-Matondo) could go straight into the team so I have a decision to make in the next 48 hours."

July  24th on the Arabs Post-Match... "We are disappointed not to come away with a victory but I don't think any team deserved to lose,  It was end-to-end attacking. Both sets of players deserve credit for their commitment to the game. It would have been a travesty if we had lost and it would have been a travesty if Dundee United had lost because their lads put in so much effort," added Shiels, who also praised referee Alan Muir for his performance. It was a good day for people to come and watch a game of football. But we can be so much better. We are trying to build a team. I was disappointed that Patrick Ada got too tight and gave away an unnecessary free-kick [that led to the goal]. These are the bread and butter things that do you, but what a goal by Swanson.  I knew he was going to be a threat but there are so many threats in the Dundee United camp. Goodwillie is horrible to play against. What a player he is. I look at the season ahead and to come here and get a point against a top-four club is exceptional but I am disappointed that we did not win. When you are in the lead and you concede the way we did, it is disappointing." Match Report

July 22nd on Being Tipped as Relegation Material..."A lot of people are writing us off now. It can have a detrimental effect if you listen to them, but everyone is entitled to their opinion. We'll take it on the chin. Last night, when I was driving down from Dundee listening to Radio 5Live, Pat Nevin and these boys who were previewing the SPL season were saying they feared for Kilmarnock, 'it looks as if they are going to go down'. I thought that was a bit drastic talk. You hear it all the time. We are just trying to make sure it doesn't get to the players, that they are not affected by it. It doesn't surprise me because we have lost a full team. We'll be looking at all the motivational tools we can. It's just disappointing because when you rebuild a team and lose the players you have brought in, it's difficult.  I'm not complaining, it is just something that has happened. Since I took over it seems to be happening consistently. Maybe we'll get some better luck one day. Things have been going okay otherwise but you don't really know how well they have been going until you start the season."

July 18th Latest on Ben Hutchinson... "We are getting close to completing a deal for Ben Hutchinson and I think we can do something with regards to that in the next day or two. I hope we will have him on board in time for the start of the season against Dundee United."

July 16th on the Ross Co Post-Match..."It was a lovely strike. I always liked Gary (Harkins) and he fits like a glove in our team. He has goals and creativity. When we arranged the friendlies we wanted to play some Scottish teams to acclimatise the foreign players. Ross County are a good side and gave us a tough challenge. We had Tomas at left-back in the first half and it was a bit difficult for him to get out. He's naturally rightsided and did well at right-back in the second half.
On Trialists Tomas Piermayr and Pelayo Gomez.... "He's a bit behind in fitness but was getting there as the game moved on and he's a good player. Gomez is 18 and an investment player - I'd love a chance to develop him. He played for Marbella but was at Brentford for a while although it didn't suit him as they played the ball over the top all the time and he ended up stuck in the reserves."

July 15th on Signing McKeon (Vs Pique)... “Rory is a great young player, he fits in with the way we play and is up for the fight. I am looking to build players for the future as well as for now.  I thought about taking on Mitchell, but felt that he was very similar to Rory in left back. As a signing, I thought it was better to bring through Rory at 18, than take on Mitchell who is 31.
On Signing A New Striker...“I do not want to rush in, as players will also be coming available later in July.”
On the three-game tour of Ireland ....“It was very good, and the games were challenging. Everybody got on very well, which is a great bonus for team bonding.”

July 8th on Mitchell Pique's Trialist Performance at Ballymena... "Mitchell did well because it wasn't easy for him to come in and play 90 minutes. We have had a chat with him and we will see how things progress over the next day or so. We will hopefully make a decision soon. It was a good workout and I was pleased with the new players. We didn't penetrate enough but our passing was good."  Pre-Season Matches

July 4th on Adding Loan Players... "What I want to do is develop players and bring in younger ones but you have to get the balance right. I don't think I've brought in enough young players and I don't want to cheat the system and use too many loan signings.  If you're from Kilmarnock and you're going to watch your team and they have four loan players, they're not your guys. Last season we showed a brand of football which brought us success. I'm not promising I can achieve that by not bringing in loan players. I might be forced into that corner financially because if you play for Everton Under-21s for example, and we split the wages, then you can understand why people use it and I've used it. But I don't want any more than one or two loan signings."

July 1st on Signing Danny Buijs... "He's got great attributes to bring to the table, he's strong, committed and is a hard worker for the team, He was captain of ADO Den Haag who have just qualified for the Europa League from the Eredivisie in Holland and had three years at Feynoord. We're really glad to get him on board and it's testament to how well we've done that players of that calibre are attracted to come to Kilmarnock Football Club."

June 30th on Capturing Zdenek Kroca..."We've been after him now for three months and worked hard on it, he'll bring stature, domination at the back and he's a very good player with lots of qualities which we've been looking for for a long time. You don't lose a player of Frazer Wright's quality and expect to fill it as well as we have done with this signing.
On Additional Signings... "We should be in a position to hold a press conference on Friday for another new player, We've lost practically a full team this summer but are working hard to establish a squad that can compete in the SPL. We'll know better after our pre-season friendlies what stage we're at."

June 23rd on Re-Signing Cammy Bell..."Cammy's taken a lot of stick because people thought he was being hesitant, but he had so many lucrative offers from other clubs. He came to me and said, 'Kenny, I'm going to make a career decision, I'm going to stay with Kilmarnock' and I thought that was very good of him because he had other options and if he had taken the option for money it might have affected the pathway he was choosing. I feel he would maybe have drifted a bit if he'd taken a more lucrative offer, but he's declined to pursue that."

June 15th on Formally Accepting the Killie Boss Job... "I don't see it as being difficult - I see it as a challenge. A challenge to the skills of myself and Jimmy that we can go back to developing and improving a system that has been very well-received by the Scottish public.  I feel as though we have a big duty to our supporters that we keep reproducing that over the next few years. We have to start that straight away and we have to pick up where we left off.  The players deserve so much credit for what happened last year. Mixu and myself were talent facilitators and we facilitated that talent in a way where we provided entertainment. There is a lot of work at every football club and I'm just a little part of that, a small cog in the wheel. You are always confident in something you feel you can do and I feel that we can achieve the same way of playing and we are determined to do that next season. Every club in Scotland, not just Kilmarnock, has to cut their cloth accordingly and we will be doing the same.  We will be working within those realms of trying to produce a football team that will entertain and provide results and do it within that budget.
On Signing  Paul Heffernan...  "Paul is a striker who I know very well from his time down in England. He's been a successful goalscorer both with Notts County and Doncaster Rovers. He was a legend there. He's a very good receiver of the ball, he's not tall but he jumps very well and he has a lot of attributes. He is what we would term a 'fox in the box' type striker. He's got goals and he will bring goals to the team and I'm excited by what he can offer Kilmarnock."
 

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Killie Manager History 1957-Present Here