Kenny Shiels Comments 2012-13

(Stand-In comments from Jimmy Nicholl are also included)

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 ....   

May 18th on the Buddies Post-Match...    Match Report

May 17th on Signing Carlisle's Peter Murphy... “We have Peter up and I am really confident we can cross the line with that one. He is an experienced centre-back who has over 400 games for Carlisle behind him. Peter really is a top player, he fits our needs and he has the quality as well.”
On Craig Samson... “I’m not alowed to speak about other team’s players. We have to have two goalies but there are a lot out there. It wouldn’t be fair to talk about him because we’re playing St Mirren.”

May 15th on the Hibs Post-Match...  "I felt we were the team who were most likely to win the game and we were going for the winner. It looked like we were going to win the game if there was going to be a winner. Then, unfortunately, we conceded two late goals and Hibs have gone home happy. Good luck to them but we will certainly not be doing the lottery with the way things are going. We have to take it on the chin and move on."
On Ross Barbour (ankle problem)... "We don't know how he is yet. He is in the hospital for an X-ray and we haven't got the results of that. The swelling was quite quick, which wasn't a good sign. We don't know the outcome just yet." Match Report

May 14th on the Hibs Pre-Match... "We are expecting a really good game. We are looking forward to the occasion because it's to celebrate the life of one of our supporters. That's foremost in our thoughts as we go into the game. Someone said to me that it just puts things into perspective and that life is more important than football. But Hibs will want to win to get seventh place, as will we. That will make it competitive and I'm expecting it to be a really top game with a lot of good young players on show from Hibernian and Kilmarnock."

May 11th on the Dee Post-Match..."The only difficulty I have is that Chris Johnston is another James Dayton, and he’s  is going to be hard to referee and they have to develop an understanding of a seven-stone player who has a change of pace, He was fouled twice in the box but didn't get the penalty. Anywhere else on the pitch and it's a free-kick. When he beats people, he doesn't dive Believe me. When he gets the ball, his mechanics and the way he changes direction so rapidly in that moment make him vulnerable. The slightest touch will send him down. Scottish supporters need a player like that, they are paying 20-odd quid to get into a game, so we have to protect him and I felt he wasn't protected. Once the referees like Euan get to know him, they will say, 'Wow, he's a good player, let's give him protection'. We had seven kids on today and you have to say, they're like goslings, They mature and they surprise even me. I've worked with so many good young players - that's the future of our club. The remit, which hasn't been given to me by the chairman, it's been given to me by myself - which is what I'm good at - is to develop young players, sell them and pay the debt off and make us a resurgent, positive club in the black. That's going to take a lot of time. I want to be part of this journey. I've never been as happy to win a game of football as I was today, because they're brave, these goslings. They get the ball, they express themselves and make mistakes - they're inconsistent. But the crowd is proud of them and I'm proud of them."  Match Report

May 9th on the Dee Pre-Match...  "You can create any permutation. You can ask what Hibs' frame of mind will be approaching a cup final in a couple of weeks. Or what will Dundee's frame of mind be, having just been relegated? Next week, it will be St Mirren and what will their frame of mind be now that they're safe?  You can create analogies on teams' mental states and where they are psychologically. But it's a game of football. It's coming to the end of the season and Dundee have proved beyond doubt that they deserved a place in the SPL through their play. They've been brilliant and deserve credit."
On Sir Alex Retiring... "Everybody takes inspiration from someone - that's what keeps us living. He is one of the people you look up to, especially with what he has achieved and what he has done for such a fantastic club. He's a unique person. There's no such thing as being irreplaceable - but he probably is. No-one will manage a club of that magnitude for 26 years. No-one will do that again because of the way football has gone."
On the Passing of Killie Fan James Haswell... "It's hard. Our thoughts are with the family and that's really about all we can say on it.  You can only offer your heart-felt sympathy. There is nothing you can do that can change anything and that's when you feel so helpless. I didn't know him that well but I remember meeting him in the bowling club. I was round there one night after a game, just to take the trophy round. I met him and had a good bit of banter with him. He was a real supporter".

May 6th on the Hibs Match Being Abandoned...  "We had all the relevant medical teams on hand to administer first aid, It is a suspected heart-attack and the victim has been removed to hospital. We don't have any further news on that and our thoughts are with him and his family and we hope he makes a recovery. It is a sad occasion for everybody and it's one of these unfortunate events that happens from time to time."   Match Report

May 4th on the Hibs Pre-Match...“We can chip away at the debt if we’re putting viable assets on the pitch. You can’t dress it up any other way. The public think you have lost the dressing-room – and I have. I’ve lost Matt Kennedy, Liam Kelly, Michael Nelson, Gary Harkins, Rory Boulding. Others are out with injury. Some of those going was by design. If people don’t want to be here, you let them leave and we brought money in. However, people have to understand where we are. It is important we have a model that’s sustainable. You have to take hits at certain stages and it’s happening right now. People must be patient because what we do today will affect tomorrow.”

May 3rd on His "Monster" Comments Relating to Celtic... "In comparison to the rest, I was using that terminology of monster and surely everyone understands what the inference was - the size of the club,  They are a monster in comparison to the likes of the other clubs and we were speaking about the advantages they have and Neil would have as a manager.  What I was saying about that was that they can afford a really good training ground and sports science and all of those things and they also have the weight of QCs to go and represent them at judicial panels.  I am not criticising Celtic for that because that's only natural that you avail of that facility that you have.
On Telephoned SFA compliance officer Vincent Lunny ... "Vincent understands what context it was said in and that words can be taken the wrong way, Hopefully that will clear the air. I don't want to be critical of Celtic. That's not what I'm about. I've had it up to here, They are watching everything I say and I have to be very careful and try to stay below the radar. From now on, I'm not going to answer questions on anyone else, opponents.  I'm just going to speak about myself and my own club." 

Apr 30th on Neil Lennon Needing To Lighten Up... “Unfortunately, Neil takes life too serious and he has to lighten up.  He is at a really good club. They need to be represented by dignity and class. I have always been frank and honest with everyone and sometimes you have to be critical of people. I like Neil and I have nothing against him. I am an avid supporter of him. It was a joke about Paranoid FC, but it seems I’ve hit a nerve. I’ve praised Celtic an awful lot this season. But if people haven’t got a sense of humour, I can’t give them one. I worry Neil thinks I have got something against Celtic — that’s not the case. Celtic are the best team in Scotland. I’m probably jealous of Neil. He is managing a fantastic club. He shouldn’t get annoyed at someone as insignificant as Mr Trent.  I am proud of Celtic and there is the Northern Ireland connection with the club through the likes of Martin O’Neill and Neil. Being from there, I hold them in high esteem. Celtic have really good players and Kris Commons and Gary Hooper would probably have been in my four.(SPL POTY). But I don’t think that we should be disrespectful to the four players who have been picked. Three of them scored at the weekend and confirmed they deserve it.”

April 27th on the Dons Post-Match... "I thought we played well in the first half. We sustained our belief in how we play and we made a few mistakes but we looked the most fluent of the two sides.  Conceding the early goal didn't help and there were a lot of stoppages for free-kicks. We chased the game, and I thought we showed great promise. In the second half, we seemed to drop a little bit deeper and give them more territory. Every single chance they had, bar one, was the result of mistakes from young players learning the game. If you were summing up the performance, you would say it was a brave performance," They were brave in where they took the ball, and they were brave in the position they got into. It's not as if we're lacking confidence." Match Report

April 26th on Celtic Having No Players Nominated for SPL POTY... "Celtic make a song and dance about everything, don't they? Paranoid FC. I think they deserve to maybe have one in with Kris Commons, who is a good shout, but I wouldn't get all paranoid about it. It's the players' thing, they deserve credit for how they vote. Certain managers are egotistical. I think the (list of) four nominees is a fair assessment of who's done well. Andrew Shinnie has been right up there as one of the best this season. I can only judge against us and Shinnie, Michael Higdon and Leigh Griffiths have all done well. Who from Celtic would come into the category? How many games did Kris Commons play? James Forrest got young player of the year last season and he only played about 20 games.
On Manager of the Year... "If you are going to go into managers, then Stuart McCall (Motherwell) and Terry Butcher (Inverness) are the top two for me and then Derek Adams (Ross County). Steve Lomas (St Johnstone) gets overlooked and Allan Johnston has done well (winning the Second Division with Queen of the South). If you'd said to me at the start of the season that out of all the domestic leagues Celtic would be one of the last to win it in Britain, I'd have been surprised. To not win the league until the end of April, I would have said that wasn't possible."

April 20th on the Hearts Post-Match... "To get booed off at the end is brilliant. It makes me feel so good because it's testament to how far we have come - to lose 1-0 against Hearts, and unfortunately. That's testament to the expectations of what supporters are seeing.  Sometimes it's frustration and I understand it. It happens to all of us in our work and what we do. Everybody starts at three o'clock, he (Momo) starts at 10 past, He deserves criticism. He went to sleep. A lot of people said it was offside, I don't know. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't, but they scored early and got the result.  We were the better team in the second half but Hearts dug in. The shape was much better in the second half and we created chances for the forwards but we just didn't finish. We didn't get the rubs but we have gone to Tynecastle and got the rubs. In life in general you have to take defeat on the chin and realise it's not going to be your day." Match Report

April 6th on the Dee Post-Match... "We just didn't deliver. I have to accept responsibility as I'm the one who selects the team. I don't want people to blame the players and I'm very low at the minute. People at the club and the supporters trusted me and I just didn't deliver, I feel really down and I have to take the blame for most of it. There were nerves there and the players were trying to play long balls to Boydy, which wasn't us and that was to our detriment. We ended up lacking invention and I'm really disappointed. You put the whole season into this particular opportunity to get into the top six with two home games and you need to win one of them. We get one point from six and it's just hard to take. I have to accept responsibility for that. I'm really sorry for the supporters but what can you do? There's no other way you can apologise and I've got to ensure I do better for the next game."  Match Report

April 5th on the Dee Pre-Match... "I hoping, allow a “celebration without guilt. When we beat Celtic in the League Cup Final a year ago it was a celebration with guilt because the father of Liam Kelly died in the immediate aftermath of the game. I’m a volatile and emotional man and if we make the top six ahead of city sides likes Hearts, Hibs and Dundee United that’ll be some achievement to savour. Leading my club to something like that is a challenge to me as an individual and I would celebrate accordingly. I was so envious and jealous of St Mirren when they beat Hearts in the League Cup Final last month that it brought tears to my eyes. They celebrated without guilt and on Saturday I want my players to pass the test of their temperament so that we can do the same. If they are as good as they can be then they can’t be classified as failures. It’s my job to manage the mentally weak and the mentally strong and make the team dynamic. I’ve taken on the authorities and been punished for it on occasions. But I only ask that I’m treated the same as everyone else. That’s why I’ll be interested to see what happens to Neil Lennon when his appeal against a touchline ban is heard next week. I’ve been the manager here for nearly two years and there’s only one thing wrong with the job. It’s the games that kill me. I’m a high-emotion bloke and pride takes over at times. I have an obsession with being successful and I’m not like other managers in one respect. They can have a sense of security based on the fact they’ve had successful playing careers. The sack for them means they can play a little golf. I’m not in a position to do that. I’ll be 57 later this month and I’m riddled with arthritis. I’m not made for life and have to do well. That’s what drives me on. I take my work home because a manager has a responsibility to question himself. Others can hide their emotions but I fall into the Paolo Di Canio category of openly displaying how I feel. That's why I’ll recognise the value of a top-six finish. Scottish football is captivating. Damn good. It’s light years ahead of countries like Ireland and Finland –and they have roughly the same size of population. But I see that better than some Scots because I’m not from here. “Television has killed the game massively. It has also accommodated football with the fees it pays for coverage of matches. But not enough to compensate for the loss of people. I would take the gamble and do away with live matches and see if that had the effect of making people return to grounds to watch football. Ten years from now you could have no TV sets and people watching football on their iPads. I’d rather get back to the day when a fan could relate to his local club and feel an affinity with them. I want Killie to influence the working man in our part of Ayrshire so that our games are his release at the end of a working week. I don’t want the game to be lost to people who’d rather play golf because they take their sons and daughters out with them. That core of grandfathers, fathers and sons that goes to the football has started to diminish and it’s a cause for concern. We’re on television less than  any other club but we’re one of the most attractive teams to watch. When I took over from Mixu, the club had scored four goals away from home over the course of the entire season. But then, of course, progress brings with it expectation and that’s something we have to satisfy this weekend at home to Dundee.”

Apr 3rd on the Buddies Post-Match...  "St Mirren were sharper and better than us in the first half, I felt that we came back into it well. It's not about making the top six, it's about progressing as a club, St Mirren is a fantastic team. I'm surprised that they haven't made the top six. It's good to get a point against a fantastic team." Match Report

Apr 2nd on the Buddies Pre-Match... "St Mirren are a very good team, they are a top-four squad. There is no doubt about that. They have got quality players - great combination players. It's a tough, tough game for us.  They are in 10th position but they are not far off fourth and I think Danny knows they are good enough to be up there in the top four. Certainly I do with the players they have. It will be a big ask for us to get something from this game and we are approaching it in that manner. But it's a great opportunity for us [to seal a top-six place] and we will do our best, that's all we can do."
On Dayton... “We have lost Dayton, which is a big loss for us. He’s a big player and adds a lot in the attacking third. He was on the verge of an England call-up, we were thinking. I know you might find that funny, but other players who have been recommended for Scotland and England are not in the same league as James. I don’t see why, just because he is wearing a Kilmarnock shirt, he can’t be recognised as an international player and I think he is on the verge of it. It’s obvious that because he is playing for Kilmarnock, (James) wouldn’t get the same recognition but believe me, he is good enough. Technically (he’s good enough) and his game understanding has improved considerably since he came up here and over the last four or five months he’s been one of the top players.”

Mar 30th on the Ross Co Post-Match... "People think Ross County had a lot of possession, but we got our goal and the tactics were to go deep and forfeit possession in their half of the pitch so it looked as if they were dominant. We knew we would have to defend a lot of corners so it was a great learning curve for the kids but we coped okay. We used different methodology to win the game today. We played Ross County at their own game and Cammy Bell had one save to make.
On Making the Top 6..."There's a long we to go. We finish with two homes games, but they are very difficult ones. There are no easy games in this league. Forty-seven points is our target, but we've got to win our next game, that's our game in hand. If we can get something from that it puts us in a decent position." Match Report

Mar 29th on the Ross Co Pre-Match..."It might be a bit early [for Boyd to start] - maybe the St Mirren game.  He's been working hard over the break and he has used those three weeks to keep himself fit and sharp. Everybody else is raring to go. It will be a hard match. They have done really well. Derek [Adams] deserves so much credit and hopefully he gets it."  

Mar 9th on the Saints Post-Match... "I'm disappointed for our supporters who made the journey on a cold day. I felt we shaded the first half play but there wasn't much goalmouth action. At half-time we said if we pushed on we could win the game. But it was poor, poor play to give away a corner and then no one picked up Murray Davidson for their goal. When you prepare for a football match you go into specific details and it is so annoying. That is twice in six days we haven't delivered. This puts us in a position where we have to win our last three games before the split.  We played six matches in February and now have three weeks off in March. It is hard to fathom."   Match Report

Mar 8th on the Saints Pre-Match..."I don't think we will change our methods. We can't change now. We are in a critical part of the season.  We've been playing football all season. We're not going to change now and start hoofing it up the pitch. We've got to have faith and confidence in what we are doing. It's worked to a certain degree all season so you can't just decide to throw that all away. Those mistakes we made last week [in the 4-2 defeat by Hibernian] were ones we can't afford to keep doing but hopefully it was just a one-off and we'll get back to doing what we do well against St Johnstone."
On Heff Being Feb POM..."Paul should get player of the month. I can't see anyone who has played as well as Paul Heffernan. There's nobody close. I'm expecting him to get it. If he doesn't, I'll be disappointed. He's been brilliant for us and the way he has come back from injury has been impressive. We are delighted with him."

Mar 3rd on the Hibs (Cup) Post-Match..."We have performed remarkably well this last while but you have to give Leigh Griffiths a lot of credit, you can't overlook that, but the basic defending of long balls was really, really poor and that was the key. We looked the team that was trying to play with invention and creativity but if you can't defend straight balls like that...they must have thought they had won the lottery. It was unbelievable, really poor."  Match Report 

Feb 27th on the Hibs Post-Match..."I thought we had it won when we scored the second goal. I thought it was a great game of football. We took the lead right after half-time. All our kids, who did a great job tonight, were involved in the goal and it was a great finish from Sammy. We hit the post and looked like we were going to add to it. We dropped off, gave them the pitch but they didn't look like they were going to hurt us apart from corner kicks. We then went up the park, regained the lead when young Jude Winchester rifled it in. Then it was a foul on James Dayton, I think, but referees are only human and they didn't spot it. The players are in the dressing room gutted."  Match Report 

Feb 26th on a 12-12-18 Lge Set-Up... “You are going to see a lot of pressure put on to teams and managers. Managers will be fired more readily next season if the leagues are restructured. If you don’t make the top eight then chairmen will be thinking, ‘Let’s get the axe out and we’ll change it for the run-in. We can’t have him in for these next crucial games after the split. It will not be fair unless you stay with the status quo.I genuinely think the SPL is a good product at the moment and it has been better because managers haven’t been sacked. We’ve had continuity and Barry Smith was the first to be axed last week. We are the role model of a club. We grow our own players, we are working on the policy of no loans and we play the right way. With 10 teenagers having regularly featured in our team this season, it is the way forward. I’m proud of where we are, sitting in seventh position. There has been a lot of hard work put into them and I expect that to bear fruit more so next season because they’ll all be a year older and will have had our education
On the Hibs Pre-Match.....“We need 10 more points but face a tough game as Hibs are a very physical and experienced side. Like ourselves, Hibs are only a couple of points off the bottom two but there are eight teams fighting for five positions in the top six. A couple will drop out over the next two sets of fixtures. Hopefully we won’t be one of them".
On a debut for Kris Boyd... “He’s looking good and sharp. But games get you fitness more than training. Kris could feature at some point but I need to juggle it in a way where he gets match fitness without it being detrimental to the team.”
 

Feb 23rd on the Dons Post-Match...  "They started better than us and got themselves in front, but then we dominated the patterns. We had a good grip on the game and I thought - this is going our way, but it upset our rhythm when we lost [Borja] Perez and after that I thought our defence became very indecisive. I'm trying very hard to discipline myself not to speak about referees, I'm not allowed to speak about referees and I'm not allowed to speak about other teams because they'll fall out with me."
On Re-Signing Kris Boyd... "I'm delighted to have him on board. I am a little bit disappointed with the press, They couldn't make the effort to get him in a Kilmarnock strip.  He played a lot of games for Kilmarnock and it was a bit insensitive in the current climate to put him on the back page with a Rangers shirt on.  It is great to get Boyd in the squad and he had an impact on the game itself because Heffernan was the best player on the pitch, He has made a major contribution to this club, gave up some of his money when he left to the youth department – he's a legend here. What does he bring [to the team] We know he's the all-time top SPL scorer so the obvious answer is he brings goals. He also has a bit of charisma and a good demeanour about him and that's something I always welcome into the chemistry of the squad. I sense a hunger about him." Match Report 
 

Feb 16th on Heff's Hearts Hat-Trick... "He's gotten the chances and he's put them away and you have to give him credit because you look at what he is playing against, There are three international defenders in there for Hearts.  It was a good outcome and the boys have shown good character. To beat a club the magnitude of Hearts three times in one season is terrific.   What you get in February every year is pitches that are not as fluent, That means there is a reduction in the passing volume you can achieve in the game.  I was pleased with the way we passed it. I think we counter-attacked well. The co-ordination of our movement was outstanding. It was a massive win for us. We know that if we want to get in that top six we need to be beating our nearest challengers. It's good to take points off them; that's encouraging." Match Report 

Feb 13th on the Caley Post-Match...  "I was frustrated he didn't give the penalty and I turned round and kicked fresh air and there was a bottle lying on its belly and it touched the bottle. I said, 'Look, I didn't mean to kick the bottle.  But the rule has been changed because Neil Lennon and Steve Lomas had theirs rescinded. Neil Lennon kicked a bottle here and didn't get anything done against him. But then I'm not Neil Lennon. 'We have to do this because there is someone watching me up in the stand. He said, 'Don't worry about it - nothing will be done. It's a ridiculous ruling. I think we deserved it because we showed a great desire and commitment to get something from the game. Inverness missed a few chances but you have got to give our players credit."  Match Report 
Feb 9th (Jimmy Nicholl)  on the Well Post-Match...  "We had a great start to the game and although we were lucky to get the own goal I thought here we go, Then we did nothing except face waves of attacks from Motherwell when we just couldn't get the ball out of our own half. I said to the players at half-time that they didn't have a hope in hell of winning the game if they continued like that - and I'm sure they were sitting in the Motherwell dressing room wondering how they were 1-0 down at half-time, and I was asking how we were 1-0 ahead" Match Report 

Feb 7th on the Well Pre-Match... "Cillian is going to be out for at least a month, possibly four to six weeks, When you lose six players in the transfer window, then lose your top goalscorer through injury, it's a big hit to try and sustain the challenge against the big clubs.

Feb 2nd (Jimmy Nicholl) on the Caley Cup Post-Match... "We knew it was going to be difficult because of the way they have been this season and what we had on the park, with the inexperience. The manager had a decision to make and it turned out to be the right decision to stick with the young lads, Barbour and Gros and O'Hara. They did really well. I thought Willie Gros was excellent up front, O'Hara's composure, and Barbour's willingness, and then the attitude of the senior players who might have been disappointed they didn't start. Heffernan got two goals coming on and showing a wee bit of composure, and everything went right for us on the day. It just shows you how substitutions go for you accidentally and it has worked out for Heffernan today, but there is no getting away from his composure for the first one and his quick-thinking for the other one." Match Report 

Feb 1st on the Caley Cup Pre-Match... "There's 16 teams left in the competition and there are 16 teams who think they can win it.  It's a tournament steeped and rich in history of small clubs going to Hampden, and I'd like us to be one of them. Queen of the South went to the final, Gretna went to the final. If they had gone out with a mindset that they can't win it, then they wouldn't have got to the final. "But it's a long way away, we have got to try and get through Inverness and everyone knows how well they are going."
To Marie Osmond at Her Rugby Park Visit... “You need to be a special person to wear the Kilmarnock jersey and you are one. It is fantastic that Marie has come down to the club, she is a true star and will be made welcome any time.” 

 Jan 30th  (Jimmy Nicholl) on the Celtic Post-Match...  "With the chances Celtic created, Neil will probably think it should have been seven or eight, It would sound strange that we were quite happy. We tried to change the system to match Celtic and our boys aren't used to playing like that, and they adapted well, We changed it, then once James Dayton came in to the middle of the park I thought we would pose them a few problems. I thought we were well in the game after a dodgy start. We had a perfectly good goal disallowed, but these things happen and you have to just get on with it.  All in all, we just couldn't cope with it at the end - balls were flashing across the face and they were lifted because of the crowd. The last 15-20 minutes were really difficult because they were getting at us and we couldn't get out. But there are positives - particularly in the first half there were signs that the football was coming back into them."   Match Report 

Jan 29th on Neil Lennon... "Neil and I don't socialise, In our jobs you don't really have a great social life anyway, but Neil and I aren't in the same social circles. I guess we're a bit cool with each other. We are two completely different beasts. Neil and I might have a drink after a game, but we do it because it is protocol, because of this hospitality thing after a game among managers.  Sometimes the last thing in the world you want is this situation where you've just been done by a penalty, or you've underperformed, and you have to go and meet the victorious manager. You're standing there thinking: 'I don't really want to meet you.' Neil or anyone else will feel exactly the same if they lose a game. You just feel it is a bit of a pretence. The one thing I will say about Neil Lennon is, I'm really, really jealous of him,  I'm jealous of him because he is managing one of the biggest clubs in the world and he hasn't really had to go through an apprenticeship. I think that fact might make it difficult for Neil down the line. If or when he does leave Celtic, and he has to manage a club like Kilmarnock or Bristol Rovers or wherever, that is going to be a culture shock for him. Look, Neil knows how to do his job, but in one sense the SPL is ridiculous: you've got Celtic and you've got the other 11 clubs. Celtic have already won this league. You've got Celtic players on £20,000-a-week and you've got players at Kilmarnock on £200-a-week, sometimes £400- or £800-a-week. It is absolutely ridiculous. The disparity is unbelievable. The test will be when Neil doesn't have that cushion. But I also believe he is a really intelligent guy, and he might well have that element of adaptability within him. I think I get on well with all the managers in Scotland, I think football managers have to have mutual respect. You always know that a rival manager is doing his utmost for his club. Sometimes I kill myself, because I focus too much on how good or how bad my team was, when maybe I should be respecting the opponent a little more. I'm also one of those managers who tends to expose people in a roundabout way, unintentionally. I tend to talk about the game and how we should play it, and then I see the other managers having a wee nibble at me, because they're not happy with me. Well, that's just me. Good luck to Neil Lennon, I say. In fact, good luck to all of them."

Jan 29th on New Signing Sammy Clingan... "Sammy is a really good player. He passes the ball well, gets into good positions and knows the game so he is one we need badly,"

Jan 27th  (Jimmy Nicholl) on the Dee Post-Match...  “If the manager got four games, I might get two — and I don’t fancy Billy Thompson taking over!  Kenny will always look to defend himself. I heard him say this is all based on two games and it’s grown arms and legs, which is true.  It wasn’t a bad result but it wasn’t great, either. A clean sheet and a point is something to build on. The manager’s standards are so high when it comes to passing. He wants us to get Borja Perez on the ball to create things for Paul Heffernan. They must always try to reach those standards. We’re not asking them to do anything they can’t do. They are capable of producing that standard of football. But the opposition are trying to stop you doing it, so you have to give them credit as well.” Match Report 

Dec 18th-Jan 25th (Updated) ... Killie manager Kenny Shiels  feud with the footballing authorities continues - HERE

Jan 19th on the Arabs Post-Match... "In the last three months there was so much uncertainty around the club (Dundee Utd) and you could see there was a bit of relief in the demeanour and the attitude of the players, They have got quality players and now they know the destiny of the manager, they are playing to impress their new suitor. You could see that psychological lift but by no means were they better than us so that gives me a lot of satisfaction. If we're not far away from Dundee United we're moving in the right direction. We were unbeaten in five games but the performance was heartening." Match Report 

Jan 17th on Squad Planning...
"I'm hopeful we can reduce the squad more because it sits with my long term strategy,  It means we can get more of these young players in and around the first team. Lots of kids here deserve that chance." Jude Winchester, Ross Davidson, Rory McKenzie, Craig Slater, Chris Johnston, Mark O'Hara, Robbie Muirhead and Ross Barbour are the youngsters the Rugby Park boss will turn to in the weeks ahead.  The kids have moved to a level now where they're as good as quite a lot of the senior pros.  You don't need to be Einstein to work out what's best for the club, not what's best for the manager because it brings problems. What's best for the club is, if these kids are good as the senior pros, you've got to get them in there."
With midfielder Kelly joining Bristol City and defender Nelson leaving for Bradford City, ..."They are a big loss,  You can labour on that and bring negative energy to the club or you can look at it from a positive perspective and see that it's creating some long term options for the development players."
On Agents Calling Him... "Agents think there's an opening here and they never stop wringing me, Believe me there has been some good phone calls about good players.  But I need to look these kids in the face and says this is the time.  I've got to provide a pathway for the benefit of those young players which in turn will benefit Kilmarnock who pay my wages. And the club needs to benefit from the young players we've worked so hard to educate and bring through.  We've got to make sure these lads get a chance."
 

Jan 16th on Losing Kelly & Then Nelson... "Kilmarnock have accepted a bid from Bradford and I assume Michael will be a City player soon enough, Michael will be a massive loss for Kilmarnock. If you look at 2012 then Kelly and Nelson were two of our best players. They were integral and a huge part of the success story of Kilmarnock in 2012. It is important that we look after the finances of the club as they were not players that I wanted to lose. "We can't look a gift horse in the mouth and we have to look to the future. The money that we have got in for Liam and Michael is not a lot. Kilmarnock are a club that is massively in debt in Scottish terms. The debt we are in supersedes the size of the club and I'm really sad to lose both of those players."

Jan 10th on Ibrahim. .. “I would class Rabiu as a player we can develop. All of my energy has to be sourced towards getting results, but also to combine that with reducing the debt at the club. And if I can marry those two — getting the debt down, as well as managing results — then everything will be fine. But it’s a difficult recipe. It’s important for me that we develop young players who are going to have a fine future in the game and hopefully benefit Kilmarnock at some point. I think Rabiu’s career is on the descent and I don’t want to give him any discouragement when I say that. But he needs a kick-start — and I feel we can provide that. Having looked at Rabiu’s career, it’s clear the ability must be there. He’s been at clubs such as PSV Eindhoven and Celtic. That tells you something. But, for whatever reason, his career hasn’t taken off. People in the game and scouts I’ve spoken to have said Rabiu has great potential. But I don’t want to be sitting in four years’ time describing him the same way — as having potential. He has to start fulfilling that NOW. And if we can get him to his maximum potential, then we’ve got a good player.  The first thing we have to do is make him feel comfortable. To give him an environment where he’s going to develop. Rabiu could feature immediately, it depends on how he does. At the moment I’d be keen to get him involved in our Under-20 game next Wednesday against Hamilton Accies. After that we’ll see.”
On His SFA disciplinary panel at Hampden next Thursday... “I’m only focused on the team, not all of these judicial things.  I’ve got a good, clear conscience. I appreciate I’ve got to stay a bit quieter and I’ve been doing that." 

Jan 7th on Keeping Liam Kelly...  "Liam is happy to stay with us. I'm sure he'll get plenty of offers but hopefully we can keep him at the club. In fact we would be keen to tie him to a new deal."

Jan 2nd on the Buddies Post-Match...  "I have to watch what I say, Mark (O'Hara who conceded a penalty) was unlucky. Lets put things into perspective, I'm the manager of Kilmarnock and I'm going to be biased towards my team, If you want me to speak about decisions in a game then interview the referee, I will talk all day long in response to what he has said. That's the way it should be, I will not answer questions about referees and I'm emphatic about that. I'm not doing any more interviews until the referees are interviewed. The conditions were really difficult for both teams and I was very pleased with the performance, we were in control of the game, but it was taken out of our hands - the penalty changed the whole shape of the game."  Match Report 

Jan 1st on the Buddies Pre-Match... “What would be my wish for 2013? “Impartiality would be good and level playing fields, things like that. And the good thing would be to do away with fourth officials because clubs of our size have to pay for five officials now. Fourth officials don’t serve any purpose at all. Football would be better without them to be perfectly honest. It’d be good if we could have a bit of peace to do our job. That would be a positive step forward. The dug-out would be a better place to be. And then there’s the referee’s observer. A good plan for the new year could be to introduce a referee’s observer observer!  It’s been better this season as clubs are closer together. Inverness and Motherwell have kicked on really well and they’ve opened a gap.”
On Signing Rabiu Danda Ibrahim ...“He’s signed a two year deal with us, I believe it’s quite a coup for Kilmarnock and we are a good fit for him. Rabiu had an offer from a club in Russia but he and his advisors thought it would be better for his career development to stay in Scotland and they were equally as keen as we were for the deal to go through. We signed him on a free transfer. He’s away with the Nigeria squad for the AfCon at the moment, I believe January 9 is the deadline for them to name their final squad. I would quite like him to be name in the squad for his confidence. If he is named then as soon as they go out of the competion he will join up with us.”

Some Opinions on Killie Boss Kenny Shiels  - Here

Dec 30th on the Buddies Pre-Match... “They have done well this season especially after losing two of their best players through injury with Darren McGregor and Paul McGowan being out. They had to cope with that and with them being a small club it is difficult. I know exactly what they are going through because we lost Paul Heffernan, Manuel Pascali, Cammy Bell and James Fowler, who are all top players. But they managed to hang in there and are nine points off the bottom now which is great.”
 

Dec 29th on the Well Post-Match... "I'm sure it was an entertaining game for the neutrals and we made a contribution, which was good, I felt in the first 20 minutes of the second-half we had control but you know what a goal can do - it gave them a great momentum shift and they were really hard to play against at the stage. There were purple patches for both teams and that's how football should be. The boys showed great spirit after conceding the second goal, we came here under-strength and to get a point is pleasing. You are always down a bit when you concede a late goal but you have to reflect on the whole game and it was a very good advert for the Scottish game. December has been a good month with two wins for ourselves and two draws. As I said, this was a good result. Our midfield was good and had spells in the game but Fir Park is a tough place to come and get something." Match Report  

Dec 28th on the Well Pre-Match... "It was a good result against Hearts but I want to get back to the way we are capable of playing. It wasn't a vintage Kilmarnock performance so we are looking at ways in which we can improve upon that."  
On Losing Players (Along with Motherwell)... “We don’t have sympathy with Motherwell over the prospect of them losing players because we’ve lost more players than any club in the last two years. We shouldn’t isolate Motherwell and say they’re affected most by it because they’re not. We’ve lost Dean Shiels, Craig Bryson, Conor Sammon, Matthew Kennedy – I could go on and on. There’s better options for them financially and that’s just part of it. There’s no point in thinking negatively about losing guys. We’re trying to keep what we have.”
On Liam Kelly Moving On in Jan..."It's the same as all players, the press have sold Jamie Murphy and they are selling Liam Kelly. The boy is happy here and we hope to keep him here. He is still under contract. I haven't heard anything from other clubs, not a thing."

Dec 26th (Jimmy Nicholl) on the Hearts Post-Match... "In the first half our composure was good but in the second half it was waves of attack, It was all rushed clearances. They put us under pressure and they kept coming back and we couldn't get out.  It was all about winning a game of football and the only way they were going to do that was by showing a real spirit and by fighting their corner and doing their jobs,vIt wasn't a display that the manager would like but sometimes needs must.  It was a hard-fought second half but we had got ourselves in a good position. I would love to get a performance at home and dominate from start to finish but the game is not as simple as that. That's seven points out of nine and we are looking to go on a wee run. We have two away games coming up," said Nicholl ahead of matches at Motherwell and St Mirren.  We have won away from home before but it is going to be difficult - that was a good result for Motherwell today [beating Aberdeen 4-1]."   Match Report 

Dec 25th on the Hearts Pre-Match..."You can look at Hearts' financial problems sympathetically. But you can also look at it in a way in which he's getting a little bit of a siege mentality there to try to help them. That happens in football. Hearts are a big club and we prepare for that in the way in which we show them the utmost respect.  They're giving young players a chance and it's tremendous what they're doing. John McGlynn is a super guy and he's doing a magnificent job."  

On His Management Style..."I'm trying to not tell the truth as much and retract from what I say, There are so many in this industry that have good political skills. I've got to see what I can learn from them.  I don't take life seriously - the only thing I take seriously is football, Outside of that, I'm not a bad person. I'm sort of like a monster in the game, and I try not to be, but that's me.  I try to change it, but if I change it, do I weaken my managerial skills?  I'll probably not change, to be honest.  I'd say about 98.8 per cent of the time I wind people up. That's just the way I am,  At school they called me poker face. Sometimes I kill myself because you are like two different people. In the football environment you are one person and when you leave that and go home you are another person. That's the problem with the job that I am in. But it's a great place to be, Scotland, and I really enjoy it.  Everybody has a massive energy and passion for football, tennis and everything and I respect that so much."

Dec 23rd (Jimmy Nicholl) on the Hibs Post-Match... "We're disappointed, because we lost the ball on the halfway line and they scored from it, I thought, defensively, we could have dealt with it a bit better. I'm disappointed because we had a good start, I thought they played well today, but when you get off to a good start, you're hoping then to get a second one, and we nearly did.  Apparently, we should have had a penalty as well, which I didn't see - but fair play to Hibs, I thought their movement and passing was good and they posed us a few problems without Cammy Bell having much to do.  But we were below par today.  We didn't create enough chances for the strikers, our play just wasn't good enough, We were hoping after last week when we got three points away from home that we would get a wee run of home wins, but we've been disappointing at home this year, to be honest.  We can't put our finger on it all, because we have a good squad of players and good quality in the team - you've got to give the opposition credit. If they stop you playing, then you have to give them credit. We have to work harder to get there and don't concede the fact that if they stop us passing the ball around, then that's it. We have to work harder off the ball to get ourselves good possession."   Match Report 

Dec 22nd on His Squad Planning... “We want to move some players out, to grow our own and to bring the youth through. This is a development club and that’s the process we’re putting in place. We might release some players and offer them different avenues.  Other clubs are watching my players every week but I’m sure if they were interested, we’d have heard from them by now. We have good kids here and I want to manage them and give them some space to grow. That’s important for their development and we haven’t been doing that in the last three or four games.  I’m conscious of the fact we need to make room for them to develop and they can’t do that if they’re not training with the first-team. I know what my squad size should be but I want it to be filled with more youth. We have Ross Barbour, Ross Davidson, Jude Winchester, Rory McKenzie, Chris Johnston, Mark O’Hara, Rory McKeown and others who are coming through. You can’t put a 100 per cent prediction on development because it fluctuates so much. But we have players who I feel can get a really good career in the SPL if not higher than that It’s important, when we use our experience, when to throw them in and when to take them out.”

Dec 21st on His SFA Issues ... "I've got a clear conscience,  When you're sinned against like I have been then you don't regret anything. No-one has shown remorse to me. I'm surprised at that, but it's important that we put it behind us and move on and I move on where I've got no fear because I've got a clear conscience and that's a big advantage.
Asked how he thought his current dispute with the SFA would end, ....."I don't know, it's way out of my thoughts at the moment. My behaviour's been impeccable. The problem is I've been truthful and it's not good to be truthful in this industry. It doesn't help you. It's a big handicap." 
On Re-Signing Liam Kelly... "I think he's got some time to stay here and it's important that he stays where he's learning,  I think he's due to sign a good contract, as far as I know. Talks will be started. We want him to stay in an environment that's good for his improvement and the SPL's certainly providing him with that. We're a development club, we're developing players and Liam was let go by MK Dons don't forget. We picked him up and we've developed him to this level now. We're doing it with other players and that's us, that's what we are. We're a club that's got a big debt and we carry that and it restricts you. If we can get consolidated and develop some more players so that we can sell them and prepare to gradually pay off the debt then we become a solvent club and we move forward from there. That's my remit and that's our ambitions; to cut the debt down and have some success along the way."
On Killie's 2012...."What we've achieved in 2012 has far surpassed what any other club in Scotland have achieved. Under the circumstances, way, way far ahead of any other club. It's immense what we achieved, absolutely immense. We've beaten Rangers, we've beaten Celtic twice and we've beaten Aberdeen away.  We've beaten Hearts away, we've beaten Hibernian away - all in a calendar year. What a magnificent effort from our players who have come from little clubs. What the players have achieved and my coach Jimmy Nicholl has achieved is nothing short of unbelievable."
On the Hibs Pre-Match... "They're up for this one.  It's a big blow [not to have Liam Kelly]. He's a player whose been doing really well. It gives someone else the chance to step in and put in a good performance. Hibs started well, Hibs have taken a little dip, but they're one of the big four heavyweights.  So we've got to compete against that and it's not easy."

Dec 18th-21st... Killie manager Kenny Shiels  feud with the footballing authorities will continue into the new year - HERE

Dec 15th (Jimmy Nicholl) on the Dons Post-Match...  "The second half, Aberdeen certainly came at us and posed us problems, I was grateful to see the second goal go in. We didn't do enough with the ball when we had an advantage.  It was a great run from Borja Perez and he kept on going, I thought he had over-run it. It's hard to say, and I've not seen the replay so I can't say whether it was a penalty or a red card or not. That was a wee break.  We weren't doing too badly. The way things have been recently, we wanted to keep it tight. It probably sounded negative to the players, but we we're just hoping to come up here and have a decent performance, and hopefully take something from the game. When you play against 10 men and are 1-0 up, you have an advantage. You should be confident and should be making the opposition work hard to get the ball off you. We didn't do that, and the players know they needed to do more with the ball. Personally, I was just delighted to get the points in the bag. The manager will be saying something different but, for me, it was all about getting three points away from home."  Match Report 

Dec 13th on His 3 Match Ban... "I'm disappointed at the ruling, My freedom of speech has been taken away. (He was cleared of "dissent, (Saints Match) adopting an aggressive attitude). I'm not pleased for being cleared for that, I'm frustrated because ultimately we lost that match. In my defence I brought video evidence with me to Hampden and they ultimately believed me because they threw out the charge." 
On His comments made in the media following the home match against Inverness on 3 November.... "I feel I haven't done anything wrong, I don't feel guilty. We have lost six points because of inaccurate refereeing decisions. We lost our goalkeeper and two penalties against us in that game [versus Inverness].  Against St Johnstone, after three minutes we lose our captain; after six minutes we lose our manager from that environment and that's hard to take and I will fight the corner of my club. My behavious has been impeccable. I don't know how I kept my composure in the St Johnstone game and the Inverness game. It's been proven today I wasn't aggressive. I contested the decision in a manner which was placid and full of composure. The referee never said anything bad about me, it was the fourth official who made all the decisions. All three decisions were [from] the fourth official. When there was no fourth officials, if we could go back to those days I'd be delighted because I don't see the need for a fourth official. If there hadn't have been a fourth official in the Kilmarnock-St Johnstone game, the Kilmarnock captain would not have been sent off and the Kilmarnock manager would not have been sent off."

Dec 11th on the SFA Being Out To Get Him... “I have to stop getting involved because I have been told they are out to get me. I don’t believe it, but I have been told that. “And it’s important that we try not to speak about those things and get back to speaking about football, such as the Queen of the South game.  I can’t say who told me that, but people are saying it. People I don’t know and some I do know. I was told when we won the Cammy Bell case that they would get us.  It was just a punter who told me that but he seemed to be in the know“John Fleming (SFA referee’s chief) came out and said I hadn’t contacted him. But I contacted him five times between the Saturday and Monday, so I was a bit taken aback by that.
On the Pascali (Saints) Red Card... “We are astonished by this decision.  According to the rules, Manuel Pascali should not even have been booked. He entered the challenge on the safe side of the opponent, with one leg. The referee made a mistake. It was a blatant mistake. How they have come to this decision is quite unbelievable  We need answers. I want to see the report. I’ve lost a lot of faith in the system because the system isn’t working.”

Dec 9th on the Celtic Post-Match...  "I think there is a distinct clarity for Celtic now as to how they are going to approach the next few months. You could see in their body language that there is a great relief in achieving what they have achieved and now they can concentrate on domestic football. I knew they were going to be very positive having fulfilled their ambition of qualifying for the Champions League (last 16). It has a big bearing on how they felt within themselves and you could see that. That is the best Celtic have played in a long time, I would say. It bodes badly on us as we have to play them in December and January." Match Report 

Dec 8th on Alan Robertson & Killie's Youth Development Program... “The supporters feel even closer to the team when they see homegrown players running out. Eventually, I want to see eleven of them going out for a game. The problem is the need every now and again to sell our best talents. But my dream is still to achieve a complete side of boys from youth development. That would be the ultimate for me. It might sound idealistic — but it’s those kind of dreams that keep you going. If we can even get closer then we’ll be successful. I’d need to be here a long time. But I think within four years we can achieve it. We won at Parkhead with academy lads 16-year-old Mark O’Hara and 19-year-old Rory McKenzie in the starting line-up. And they were an absolute credit to themselves plus Jimmy Nicholl, Alan Robertson and everyone else involved in our youth set-up. We want to have that conveyor belt, we have to keep it running, it can’t stand still. When Michael Johnston gave me the manager’s job we never spoke about the youth development aspect. But I’ve always been mindful of it in my coaching career. Good management is leaving behind stability and a legacy of players coming through. That’s exactly what I want for Kilmarnock. So when I get fired, or whatever else happens to me, the next man coming in inheriting something good. Alan’s done a magnificent job with the youths. He’s been given more of a key role while also being involved closer with the first team players. I need to utilise Alan’s skills. I don’t know if that’s been done in the past. But he’s a good judge of a player and also has a good knowledge of the game. Alan, of course, is also a great Kilmarnock man. His association with this club as player and coach speaks for itself. He has massive integrity in how he works with young players — and for me that’s a great attribute. I know he is someone I can trust and that’s the key to any successful youth programme. We have to manage our young players in a way that makes them feel wanted. If they feel wanted then they express themselves much more freely. And these boys are expressing themselves at the minute. We also have to thank our sponsors QTS and their man Alan Mcleish. His support has been brilliant. Alan helps us at all levels, including youths, and we’re grateful.”
Shiels On Liam Kelly coming on against Luxembourg... “Liam’s a fantastic lad and this season he’s scored the clinching goal at Parkhead before representing Scotland. The call-ups for him and Cammy Bell were marvellous and I’m proud of the fact we’ve had lads involved at every international level.  Matthew Kennedy’s no longer with us, having gone to Everton, but I want to mention him too. He got recognition for Scotland at under-17 and, latterly, under-19 level. We lost him this season but it brought in important revenue for the club.”

Scotland under-16s: Devlin McKay, Dylan Poolar, Adam Hodge, Greg Kilte; Scotland under-17-18: Matthew Kennedy, Robbie Muirhead, Mark O’Hara, Chris Johnston, Rory McKenzie; Northern Ireland under-19,21: Rory McKeown, Jude Winchester; Scotland full: Cammy Bell, Liam Kelly.

Dec 1st on the QoS Post-Match... "The Football Association must have changed the rules on tackling and I am trying to figure out what they are. I couldn't see anything wrong with the tackle and I would be very disappointed if I was with Queen of the South. It made it more difficult for us as it gave us more space and time on the ball, almost a reversal of last week when Pascal Manuel was sent off for a similar kind of challenge. The boys kept the ball well but we had a lack of penetration as we had too many options. I am delighted though to get through and thought it was well deserved. We started last season's league cup run with a victory over Queen's so who knows where we can go from here." Match Report 

Nov 29th on Having To Face SFA Disciplinary Hearing... "Managers do an interview after a game by mandatory measures and referees should do interviews after a game. It gives them a chance to explain why they've made a decision. I think there has to be changes in the treatment of managers. The way Neil Lennon was treated for a lot last season was abhorrent. I really feel there should be better methods of dealing with managers and more tolerance. Nobody likes decisions going against them in terms of the game, but certainly I'm not happy with the way I've been treated because I represent Kilmarnock Football Club and I don't like my club being treated in such a way that it's becoming too common now."
On Using  Insulting or abusive language (during the 2-1 loss to St Johnstone at the weekend)..."I didn't use abusive language at any time. There are too many children down in that front area for me to use abusive language and I have to respect that. At no time did I use abusive language and I would just like to see the referee's report and then I can make decisions on how much further I will take it." On the  Queen of the South Scottish Cup Tie... "I would love to win the game to get through after all this stuff we've had to put up with and the players have had to put up with. They've been brilliant. They played 90 minutes last Saturday with 10 players, which is quite unique. There were three minutes and 50 seconds added on so you would have to say that was a fantastic effort and a game we should have won. I told the players this morning that the worst thing we can do is feel sorry for ourselves. We've lost six points in two games at home, which were disproportionate to our performance. They were two games we could have won and we've been deprived of the opportunity to do that. And we now have to go up and see people at the SFA despite mistakes which have cost us six points."

Nov 24th on the Saints Post-Match... "The fourth official made the decision (Pasca Red Card) - a young lad,  Seemingly, he conveyed that information to the referee that it was a red card - everybody was amazed at it.  Steve [Lomas] got in his [the fourth official's] ear and I'm not blaming him for that, but he was right in his ear when it happened and that can have an influence on a young boy, Maybe if I have a criticism of the Referee's Association, they should maybe appoint a strong character in that fourth official's place, because he can be influenced. It was obvious it wasn't a red and it's disappointing that we've had two reds in our last two home games. We appealed the other one and got it rescinded, but we didn't get the three points back that we lost against Inverness. We're not going to get these points back either. There is no way there is a vendetta against Kilmarnock by referees because we won the case with Cammy Bell - I want to make that abundantly clear,"  Match Report 

Nov 23rd on the Saints Pre-Match... "We got a real thumping in Perth, it was our worst performance of the season so we are looking to redress that.  St Johnstone were all over us like a rash, they were outstanding. It was 2-1 to them but that flattered us.  It is the first time in a long time that we didn't contribute to a game and we want to try to perform better for our supporters on Saturday." 
On Liam Kelly's Injury... "If he has torn the ligament or ruptured them, it could be three months, but it could be six weeks We are hoping to find out in the next 48 hours. There is some ligament damage to his shoulder after falling on the training ground in an accident. We have just got Paul Heffernan, Cammy Bell and James Fowler back and now we have lost Liam, which is a bit of a blow."

Nov 16th on the Arabs Co Post-Match..."It's unfair to Dundee United to say we squandered the lead, They threw everything at us. We didn't play much football because we knew we would need to fight and battle. Because of the atmosphere we had to go in there and compete. To come away from here with a point is a fantastic achievement. I thought both sets of players were fantastic.  We had to match how committed United are and our boys deserve so much credit, They are a fantastic team, we can't overlook that and they were hurting us with their wing play. The referee did well when players were rolling over looking for penalties. But take nothing away from United, they deserve their draw. We play a bit open, which is a weakness, but we want to entertain. We kept two up front for the whole match, with support players. The players gave everything they had. Why do you need to tell lies (based on Wilo Flood's comments) to garner motivation? I'm hurting about that because I've never said anything bad about Dundee United."  Match Report  
 

Nov 14th on Scottish Football Re-Alignment... "You've got the SFA, the SPL and the SFL - they'll have to have the Third World War first before anything happens!  So we'll see who comes out on top in that!  People are jockeying for position, they're looking after their own little empires. These things happen but someone has to give ground.  It's not about me and what's best for me the individual. If you get me in a room and ask me what's best for football I would have to make consideration as to what is best for football first. Obviously I have to think and opine into what's best for my club, but what's best for football should be the common denominator - not what's best for me and my position in the SFA or the SFL or the SPL. It shouldn't be about me - me being the person who's looking after my position. A lot of people in the suits will make opinions and decisions based on what's best for them as individuals. Therein lies the problem! I think it's a good product as it sits and trial and error would come into play as to whether 16 would be better,  They have to sit down and talk with football people. They need to speak to people at the coal face who would know a little bit more of what's happening on the football side of things. I would like to see what the managers and the staff all think. I think 16 would be really good - I think 12 is good also. People like to see changes taking place but they are only good if they are for the better.  There are risks with all formats. Clubs have got into the 38 game situation. Is a 16 [team] top league going to give them only 37 games and the loss of a home fixture?  That could be significant for a Motherwell or a Kilmarnock if they lose a home gate. So there are things that need to be taken into consideration."

Nov 10th on the Ross Co Post-Match...  "We have got to get some of the young boys through and we sacrificed that today by bringing in senior players. It was a good game of football and Ross County made a fantastic contribution,  After the 0-0 draw with them earlier in the season I said we should both get points taken off us as it was boring game.  But this time both teams contributed to a really good game of football. I played experience today and we can't play our strongest team and sacrifice our youth development,  But today was not a development day and we showed a lot of creativity and created about 10 or 12 chances. The movement of the front two pleased me but the work rate throughout the team was great.  We had a couple of efforts cleared off the line in the first half and at half-time I told the players that we were the more likely team to score and after we did in the second half we took command.  "I would say we were shades in front before we got the first goal but Ross County were threatening. We were frustrated because we were knocking on the door for so long. We had a couple cleared off the line.  Their keeper spilled a couple and there was an obvious penalty that wasn't given." Match Report  

Nov 3rd on the Caley Post-Match... "It was the first 30 mins that killed us. We stood off them! Kenny then told the BBC Scotland's Chick Young that he can't 'tell the truth' about his thoughts on the 2-1 defeat by Inverness CT and that he's reported referee Euan Norris for comments (a sarcastic remark) made to him post-match. He then asked Chic Young to ask the SFA why he cant tell the truth.  Match Report  

Nov 2nd on the Caley Pre-Match... "Inverness are strong favourites because of their current form. They've scored the most goals in the league, they are the top dogs. We have to look to restrict them and if we can put on a good defensive performance, I'm sure we will do well. Inverness are now unbeaten in eight games and have netted in every single match so far this season. The players know they've created history and that's good. But that's gone, that's literally history now. We are going from playing the best team in Scotland to playing the best team on form in Scotland. It's always important to get a win. On the back of the victory, it sends out a message that we are turning the corner. We have won three out of our last five and it would be really good to win this game. I'm sure we can achieve that if we get our organisation and discipline right."

Oct 27th on the Celtic Post-Match...  "It was befitting that he scored the second goal. It was a very emotional time for Liam and the club back in March, The person I'm most pleased for is Liam Kelly,  We never really got a chance to celebrate the last victory against Celtic at Hampden and it was a really euphoric occasion. I just said to the boys, let's have a really good night and celebrate for Liam Kelly. There's no such thing as perfection, but that was pretty close to it in how we organised and how we set up, The best way to sum it up is the nullification of a quality team - Celtic, we have to remember, have just come off the back of playing Barcelona and a fantastic performance. They were fresh and fit, we were still hungover from the St Johnstone game, when we lost James Fowler.  I really want to say this because there's two generations of supporters who haven't witnessed that and the ones who came along today, I was really pleased for them," said Shiels, picking out teenagers Mark O'Hara and Rory McKenzie for praise. What can you say? The boys were exceptional. A young 16-year-old made his debut at right-back, with an 18-year-old just in front of him and they were unbelievable. We were as good this week as we were bad last week," added Shiels. "I was so angry with myself all week. We had a good game plan and I think it worked very well for us."   Match Report  

Oct 25th on the Celtic Pre-Match... “If we exceed expectations then it will be printed in a way that Celtic were tired. That’s just the way it is. If they don’t match up to an inferior opponent they will be questioned rather than us praised. But it’s a huge ask of us because Celtic did the country and SPL proud in Barcelona. What they’ve done is great and it’s my ambition to take Kilmarnock into Europe in the next four years. Tiredness will not be a factor in Celtic’s performance against us because it only lasts 48 hours. The lactate in the muscles will have dispersed by now. I’ve not mentioned 1955 to my players because the motivation is self-explanatory. We have been written off.”
On Mohamadou Sissoko ..."I have still to select the team so I am undecided about him, but there is a chance he will be on the bench at least."

Oct 24th on the Celtic Pre-Match... "I wasn't born (in 1955 when Killie last won at Parkhead) so let's not say any more than that,  It's been a long time and it will be good to try and do something about that. We've set a few records at Kilmarnock. You can keep using that as motivation but it doesn't always work. But if we get back to performing well, then I'd be happy that we can achieve something from the game. We've been poor in our last couple of games but we want to get playing how we know we can. We're going to look at [the Celtic match] it as a game that we want to learn something about ourselves and that's a big thing for us. We had a meeting about how we played on Saturday. St Johnstone were very good and I don't want to deflect from that, but part of it was that we were also poor. This is a big chance for us to learn and improve and take that into the Inverness game [the following] week. Celtic are tip-toeing through the league. A bit like Rangers [in the third division], they are top of the league and they could probably kick on as soon as it gets more serious. They are trying to marry their league form with their European commitments. But they will be ready for our game. They look forward to playing Kilmarnock most because we are open against them."

Oct 20th on the Saints Post-Match...  "When you play two at the back you do get caught and we accept that, but we were chasing to get the equaliser. We don't want to take anything away from St Johnstone because when you win games and you go on a little run it provides a positive energy and there's a chemistry in the St Johnstone team. They were really strong and committed. We tried to match that commitment and I can't say that our boys weren't committed to try and stop them from playing and trying to produce. After they got the goal we changed it and we got control of the ball, and we looked the more likely for the last 15 minutes of the first half and the first 20 minutes of the second half. We said at half-time they were there for the taking. They were on the ropes, there's no question of that. The best team won on the day and we're not taking that away from them but, unfortunately, we weren't at our best today." Match Report

Oct 19th on the Saints Pre-Match... "We didn't take much of a break this time and hopefully it will work in our favour, because we did a lot of game preparation this week on the tactical side of our preparation, So we are up and ready and we will see where that takes us. St Johnstone are the form team in the league and it's going to be a tough game. It was good to have them back but the game maybe wasn't appropriate because Dundee had a lot of young players in the team, As a result of that we have planned a closed-door game against Dunfermline at Kilmarnock on Tuesday to give them another game. But it was good to have them back and Hefffernan scoring helped. I'm happy with the squad, although you are never content in this job," 

Oct 6th on the Dons Post-match... "I just think Steven (the referee) could have done better today,  I think he'll be the first to admit it wasn't one of his best performances,  James Dayton was fouled a lot today.  I thought there was an imbalance in what could have been done,  I'm not looking for excuses, but it did impact on the gameflow.  I don't think we deserved to lose the game, I'm not going to be too harsh. We can't play like that against Aberdeen, they're too good. However, we've come off the back of two really good ones and we just have to start working towards the next game, and hopefully we can win that one."  Match Report
 

Oct 5th on the Dons Pre-match... "Because we have won a couple of games people raise expectations but we were seventh last season against massive adversity and having lost a lot of quality players in the summer, a lot of the goals went out of my team, if we can get away from the relegation zone then that will be an achievement of its own. If we can get seventh this season that would be remarkable. What we achieved last season was one of the best in Scottish football for a long, long time. It wasn't recognised by the media which rankles with me."

Sept 29th on the Hearts Post-Match... "I thought we deserved the win beyond a shadow of a doubt, I thought we were disciplined and controlled in the game.  We knew as the away team, coming here, we were going to have to defend a lot of free-kicks and corner kicks.  The psychology of the game was similar to last week, we got the goal and ourselves in front and we were then able to nullify their threats and the players had the confidence to play and win victory of the ball, which I was pleased with.  We're not far off the bottom, and we need to be aware of the teams that are down there. We need to stay above that danger zone and stay in the top six, away from that position."   Match Report 

Sept 22nd on the Buddies Post-Match... "When you have two teams like Kilmarnock and St Mirren coming to the stage you are going to get football and there's going to be rotation and movement in the pattern of play,  I have so much respect for the way in which St Mirren play and today's game was a great advert for Scottish football.  I thought that in the games between the two sides last season the team that had the most of the ball ended up losing.  St Mirren were very good and for the first 20 minutes of the game they had victory of the ball, but we changed a few things and from being 1-0 up we were worthy winners. It was good for Cillian to score, we self-destructed with two gift passes to them in the early exchanges and Kyle Letheren was outstanding in that period of play to deny St Mirren a goal, Getting the goal put us in a positive note. It's too early to be looking at league tables but very nice to get a result. Too often last season we were draw, draw in successive games, we will continue to try win every game and get away from draws." Match Report

Sep 15th on the Hibs Post-Match... "He (Cairney) ran straight into my player looking for a penalty, There was no contact. I don't have to see replays. We know it wasn't a penalty.  I wasn't happy about the penalty decision, it came at a bad time. I had a good chat with him (the ref)  and he treated me like a human being. The referee had a good game, but there was an ulterior influence in there. The mistakes he made influenced the outcome and it went against us today. We were very unfortunate. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. Hibs are having a good run and everything seems to be going their way. If you look at what they have done to win the match, they've got an own goal and a disputed penalty. I don't think they've done enough to win the game and I certainly don't think we have been bad enough to lose the game."  Match Report

Sep 14th on the Hibs Pre-match... "They [Hibs] have definitely got that energy about them. They are a fantastic club and a big team. They are a team that is where they should be, I feel. They are in around the third biggest club in the SPL now so that brings its own pressure."
On Signing Riordan... "He's an out-of-contract player who we are facilitating, that's all, We have done it with Mark Kerr and loads of players who want to keep their fitness up until they get fixed up. 
On Cillian Sheridan fitness..."I have to have a chat with him about that,  He has done a pre-season with Sofia and I need to work out if he has enough game time to come in. There were other more lucrative offers for him, I want to stress that,  "His agent worked in close contact with myself and he felt it was a good move for him to come here at this time of his career. I concur with that, I really think we've a chance to develop the player. That's our priority, to improve players. If we have enough intelligence about us the team will become better."

Sep 1st on the Ross Co Post-Match... "It's not what I came to Scotland for - it was anti-football. It was poor for the spectators, the teams kept giving each other the ball. The fact we got a point is good but on reflection it wasn't a good game of football.  I don't think Ross County deserved to win and I don't think we deserved to win. We knew it would be difficult at set-pieces, that was their only threat really. We endured that and did well in that department but we weren't fluent. Inside I'm hurting because I want us to pass the ball and create chances and give the crowd something to shout about. Ross County have a great spirit and they work hard. They deserve a lot of credit to get to the SPL, a lot of people at the club deserve a lot of credit but I'm sure they are disappointed in the match itself." Match Report

Aug 30th on Kennedy... Shiels described Everton's bid as "derisory". ... "It was disrespectful to the club and unsettled the player, which I wasn't happy about.  But that can change and if we were speaking tomorrow it might be different but hopefully it won't be. We don't know if Everton will come in with a new offer,  We want to keep him and believe staying at the club would be better for his development as a footballer. The window shuts tomorrow [Friday] and hopefully Kennedy will still be a Kilmarnock player.''  
On Hamstring injury victim Jeroen Tesselaar.... He'll  to be missing for six weeks,
On Rangers' interest in Killie goalkeeper Cammy Bell...  "I find it hard to believe  It is a bit late, isn't it? There's not been a thing [from Rangers]. If they were wanting him you would have thought it would have happened maybe a week ago but I can't see it happening now."

Aug 28th on the Stennie Post-Match...  "If you look at what happened on Saturday when we were fantastic against Dundee United, we didn't get much credit and it was all about how poor they were so I don't want to come across that way and talk about how poor we were. I'd rather give credit to Stenhousemuir rather than talk about some of the faults in our play. They came here and played really well, were 2-0 up at half-time and it should have been more, and they were better than us and we're disappointed with the outcome. That's the downside to football - the highs and the lows - and we've lost another player tonight with Jeroen Tesselaar going off after feeling his hamstring. God knows how I'm going to put a side out for Saturday now with the injuries we have, but that's the challenge." Match Report

Aug 27th on the Stennie Pre-Match... “We’ve been so proud of that trophy we have shown it off to the local public. We’ve gone everywhere round Kilmarnock with the trophy.  It’s like one of the family now — we treat it like one of our children. I look at that trophy as often as I can. It’s important for Kilmarnock.  Pressure is when someone has cancer. From a sporting context I see it as a real challenge for us to not give up this trophy. I’m not saying we’re trying to win it again but we want to progress and take each obstacle as it comes as we did last season. We have to be professional in the way we address this and try to get into the next round. Dundee United were the last side outside the Old Firm to defend the League Cup — way back in 1981. We’ll put out the strongest team available to us, as we did in every cup tie last season. That’s being respectful to the sponsors, the tournament and the fact we’re playing against a very good team. The Kilmarnock public will see a good team against us at Rugby Park.”

Aug 25th on the Arabs Post-Match..."If you take the goals out of the game I thought it was a very good performance from us, We did well in the first half and, without intimidating them, and I thought we did enough to get in behind them in the second. The rain at half-time helped as it was going to favour a football side. I was surprised by United, who normally play through Jon Daly but today they played from the back. It is great for the young players as the supporters have an affinity with them and you can hear that from the stands. But it is a lot of responsibility on young shoulders, so with Paul Heffernan out I am still looking for an experienced striker to give the young players some support." Match Report

Aug 24th on Celtic Advancing in the Champions League... “A place in the group stage for Celtic would lead to positive feedback from abroad. Scotland would then be perceived as a good place to go by players. Killie would be regarded as part of the same SPL family and we might find it easier to tempt targets.
On League Reconstruction... "Fans influenced the decision to exclude Rangers from the top league in the first place. Now it looks as if it’s the fans pushing for a 16-team SPL. I’d like to see the game’s decision makers call the shots instead of people who are operating outside of the football industry. Reconstruction has to take place for the right reasons and that means the good of the game in general.”

Aug 20th on Cammy Bell's Broken Hand... "We have to remain positive, injuries happen at all clubs, It's been very unfortunate in that we have had three operations in the one week, but we won't panic. There are young players ready to come in and we have a replacement keeper in Kyle Letheren."

Aug 18th on the Well Post-Match... "I think it could have went either way, we were playing against a counter-attack team and we knew going into the game that Motherwell are a dangerous team away from home,  It was poor play for the first goal and the second the player wasn't tracked, we have to look at the imagination side and work on that in the next week. We need someone to hold up the ball a bit better and link it up, we are missing Heffernan and you can see how it has an impact on our performance. It's early yet and too early to make assessments, it could have so easily been a draw today but I still feel if you take Harkins out then we lack creativity." Match Report

Aug 16th on Signing Borja Perez... "Borja will give us creativity. He’s not a striker as such, but he brings a spark. He’s a bit like Dean Shiels".

On extending the Transfer Window… “It’s not fair on clubs where this is their spending time.Surely with these extenuating circumstances we could extend it for a couple of weeks because clubs haven’t had that money.”

Aug 15th on Failing to Sign Colin Nish... " I'm gutted about this one falling through as I'm a fan of Nish and think he done very well for us when he was here. He wasn't appreciated enough by a lot of fans but I feel he could do us a turn up front, as his goals per season with us last time was pretty good".

Aug 11th on the Caley Post-Match...   "Both of them  (Gary Harkins and James Dayton) could potentially be long term. James has hurt his knee and we won't know how bad it is until the swelling goes down. Gary's hit the back of his head, so you are possibly looking at two weeks out for him if it is a concussion. I thought for the first 20 minutes we were still on the bus, but after we made a couple of changes within the team it helped to alter our style of play. I felt we dominated the game for long periods, but we couldn't really create chances and we are going to really suffer one of these days because of that. However, the boys deserve credit because they were up this morning at 6am and put in a great shift."  Match Report

Aug 10th on Signing Colin Nish...“Signing a striker would be a priority for us,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get Colin Nish on loan. He’s never worked under a manager who likes to play the ball to him on the ground – everyone else had played it in the air to him and that’s not his strength. I’ve tried to get him because he’s got good feet, he can hold the ball up and he’s a former player as well, of course. St Johnstone were also in for him but now that they’ve signed Craig Beattie that might end their interest. However, we won’t be able to get him in time for Saturday’s game at Inverness.”
On the Caley Pre-Match... “Last week’s game was typical of two teams who weren’t ready for it. It favoured them because it was so early in the season. We have sharpened things up since then but like most of the teams in the SPL we won’t be up to speed until September.  Inverness have great spirit and the players are committed to their manager,” added the Kilmarnock manager. “We know it is going to be a tough game and they have motivational tools, like saying ‘the central belt doesn’t like us and they don’t want us to be in the league’. I agree with him, I am not being critical, I am saying that it is great that he does that and so he should. He wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t.  It is never an easy place to go, everybody keeps saying that. They get into you and make life difficult. They are good games against Inverness and hopefully we will get a good crowd on Saturday.”
On Signing Borja...."Things are ongoing with that. It is at the early stages,"

Aug 4th (Jimmy Nicholl) on the Dundee Post-Match... "It was frustrating because we would have liked to score goals. We don't have Heffernan and Dean Shiels - and that's 30-odd goals and assists for the team. We were hoping we would get a bit of joy. We knew what our problems were going to be and we just couldn't score when we were on top. It was disappointing to be honest with you."  Match Report

Aug 3rd on the Dundee Pre-Match..."We have lost eight quality players, we have lost goals, we have lost a lot of assets in the playing squad, "I'm sure the expectations of the fans will be realistic. We have got to look at the reality and have a clear understanding of where we are. There is no way supporters' expectations are going to be greater. They understand the predicament we are in, the extenuating circumstances of the club. It's in debt and we have to manage our finances accordingly. The expectation of the club is to stay in the SPL and build on our youth policy so that we will progress gradually over the next few years".

Aug 1st on Hitting the Pubs to Drum Up Season Ticket Sales...“We want to embrace the community and bring the club to them and I hope there’s reciprocal positivity. There were a lot of people in the pubs who were surprised by my visit. We got a few extra sales from it. People came to me and said they would purchase a season ticket. I didn’t have a pint in any of the pubs as I was driving. There was mutual respect more than anything. People enjoyed the conversation about Kilmarnock and how much they want us to do well. We did it all on Saturday. It was either that or go and watch Hibs against Huddersfield!  I’ve done it before in Northern Ireland. People have to understand we’re trying to provide entertainment for them. There is hatred in football which I’m not happy about. But I always think if you love something you strive to get better and the people around you strive to get better. That’s a great vehicle to have and we’ll continue to do that. There’s a great feeling of that about this time because people here love Kilmarnock and we have to reciprocate that love. We delivered season tickets to people in Edinburgh for some fans who bought them online. Rather than posting them all out, we delivered some to their houses. The reaction was positive. It’s not about me, it’s about Kilmarnock. I made the decision myself to go to the pubs. The club and the hard workers at Rugby Park inspire me. The stalwarts of the club give me inspiration and hopefully I can pass that and encourage new supporters.
On Losing Heff to Injury & Deano to Rangers... “We had two extremes in one day. On Tuesday we had great optimism with the Sky announcement, but that was coupled with the playing side where we lost all our goals in one day — Dean to Rangers and Paul to injury. It’s up to me as a manager to make the changes to help us get goals because that’s a massive void to fill.”

July 26th on the Season Ahead... “Obama once said: ‘A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things’. We have to use that as our incentive. We have got to get some positive energy into Kilmarnock and we must back our supporters.  They have made a massive commitment to sporting integrity by choosing to send Rangers down. We now see this as a challenge to fulfil that sporting integrity. We are in a position where we have to give ultimate commitment to that. Now we have to be squeaky clean.  I still have full confidence we will get 5,000 to 6,000 season ticket holders this season. We have made a decision as a league to put Rangers out, so it’s time for people to step up to the plate. Across the board the fans have to come out, leave their armchairs and show their commitment to integrity. They have decided Rangers have to be out and we have to support that. We’ve a really good support and I would expect it to get bigger. It’s the same old adage — if you can find a path with no obstacles it probably doesn’t lead anywhere. I think we’ve the determination and will to drive forward. We’ve got to use our full capacity, commitment and integrity of our sport — and that’s a word I will be using a lot this season. A lot of clubs are going to have to step up to the plate and we are one of them. We’ll have to do it without finance, but we’re very much dependent on strong support from our fans. Our first target should be to hit 5,000 season tickets. If we can achieve that it will bring renewed optimism into Kilmarnock. I feel we can achieve that, but we all have to step up to the plate because we all need to save jobs and make sure we work hard to do that. The difficulties in our life are intended to make us better, not bitter. If we go through life hating everything we will stand still and stagnate.”
On Facing Dundee... “I’d heard two or three weeks ago we might be facing Dundee in our first game. I thought Rangers being relegated would mean Dunfermline would stay up so I’m surprised Dundee were chosen but I respect them as a club and they deserve to be in the SPL now. Dundee are going to be very difficult for us and they are certainly an SPL club in my eyes. They have still got the remnants of the squad we faced last season in two cup-ties. They were two very even matches and they could have gone either way. We had a couple of lucky breaks and went through, but they could have put us out so we know they are strong opponents.”

June 25th on the Impact of No Rangers in the SPL... " Kilmarnock will suffer the most for Rangers not being in the league. We will only have one guaranteed Old Firm gate next season as we were down to play Rangers twice at home. That could be £150-200,000 per game. Add in £200k for commercial and hospitality and we could potentially lose £500k from TV money — there’s £1m we have to save. We will also miss out on the Naismith sell-on fee. There was a clause inserted when we sold him to Rangers. We are different in that we carry debt. Other clubs of a similar size like St Johnstone and St Mirren don’t carry debt, so this will have a bigger impact on us. It won’t all be doom and gloom, but it’s a big challenge for us if Rangers aren’t in the league. We have to be very careful in terms of our spending. We have to work on small budgets and we’ll see how that develops. People are getting on the high moral ground and perhaps it suits them. There has to be punishment for Rangers. I’m not in a position to say what that should be, but football should not suffer. That is important. Football integrity is vital. We have integrity as a club. We have shown that and are working very hard on it. I’m not saying Rangers shouldn’t be punished. I’m not erring on one side or the other. All I’m saying is Rangers need to be punished, but we can’t punish football. If Rangers go out of the league and Dundee or Dunfermline come in, there will be eight out of 12 teams from the east or north of the country. We will be isolated to an extent and because we are in a Rangers stronghold this will have a massive impact on us".

June 20th on the SPL Fixtures Sending Killie Upto the Highlands 6 Times... “I know it is impossible to keep everyone happy and the people who have the job of doing the fixtures have a difficult task.  But my first feelings upon hearing the news of the fixtures for next season is that it’s not fair on us. Financially, it is going to be a massive outlay for our supporters. There is a recession going on and to have to make four trips to the Highlands is certainly an imbalance because it is at least an eight-hour round trip. Last season we played Aberdeen away twice and Inverness away twice before the SPL split and we were also away to Dundee United twice. We are the most southern club in the SPL so those were the furthest trips we would have, yet we got all three of them twice before the split. Now it’s happening again with Dingwall and Inverness and I just don’t feel that is fair on our supporters. Our away support is right up there among the best and I am really proud of that so it’s a bit frustrating that they are going to have to make so many long journeys again".
On Playing  Wrexham in Wales on Wednesday, July 18... “And we are going down to Wrexham next month and I’m going to use that as a conditioning programme. The game is on a Wednesday night and we are going to travel from Kilmarnock on the Wednesday morning. It is to help the players get used to such lengthy travelling and get the experience of playing on the same day. It’s not an ideal situation at all, but it’s all about cutting your cloth accordingly and it will be good for the players to experience that journey for what they will face in the domestic programme next season.”

June 16th on the SPL "NewCo" Vote... “A secret ballot would be the best solution as the clubs would not be put in an awkward position. I don’t think a show of hands is the best way to go on this. There will be a fall-out either way so a ballot would benefit the whole of Scottish football. The decision to be made is huge and will affect so many people in so many ways.  I compare it to a decision you would make regarding your family. You have to look after your family and you have to make a decision that is in their best interests. Clubs have to do the same when it comes to the vote on a Rangers newco. We’re in real danger of over-complicating this with too many people trying to take the moral high ground. In my opinion it is quite simple.  All clubs have to very careful in the way they are run as I believe the taxman is out to get football. The news of Rangers was like a death in the football family. But we must move on and we have to stand up for our industry. It’s time for people and organisations to stick together and start working as one for the good of the game. It’s not about hammering people in order to gain some bragging rights. We need to reach some kind of agreement suitable to all the parties involved so we can move forward.”

May 22nd on Signing a New Two Year Deal...  "I was always wanting to be here, it was so much in my heart,  I've got a fondness about Kilmarnock and I want to be here so much.  I'm always looking at players but where I'm going to be looking more and more is at the youth here and how we can grow our own players, That's a big part of the future of this club. There's a recession on and we have to keep cutting, like many other clubs. We know we can't compete in the transfer market, so young players will get opportunities here. We'll just see how they handle that.  We want them to learn their trade here and in return we will get compensation, like we did with Craig Bryson and Conor Sammon. I've put in a principle of play when I came to the club with Mixu and it's cottoned on. I feel as if we have made a contribution to how the game has progressed in the last two years. Players make mistakes but the management encourages them to remain brave and keep the ball and play with imagination  I'm not in the least surprised that we won the League Cup."
Assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl has also agreed a two-year contract extension.
On Keep Son Dean at the Club.. "Dean had a fantastic season with 15 goals from midfield and his assists have been phenomenal, He's one I'd really like to try and keep but just let's wait and see with that. He's one of my sons at the club, that's how I like to look at them all - as part of the family.

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Killie Manager History 1957-Present Here