Football Season Guide

Kilmarnock

In


Aaron McGowan (def) Hamilton; Mitchell Pinnock (mid) AFC Wimbledon; Zeno Rossi (def) Bournemouth; Danny Whitehall (att) Maidenhead; Brandon Haunstrup (def) Portsmouth.

Out


Stephen O'Donnell (def) free; Jamie Walker (gk) Stranraer; Dom Thomas (mid) Dunfermeline; Jamie MacDonald (gk) Raith Rovers; Iain Wilson (mid) Dunfermeline Athletic.

Had a miserable season last time out with the squad struggling to settle after Steve Clarke’s departure. Killie were in turmoil under Angelo Alessio, with players unhappy and performing poorly. They were dumped out of Europe by semi-professional Welsh opposition before enduring long losing spells with the team struggling to offer an attacking threat. Saw some improvement after Alex Dyer was appointed in December. A bright point was the partnership formed by Kabamba and Brophy in attack. But defence was consistently poor with the backline badly organised and lacking pace. This summer, the club have adopted a safer approach to transfers. They are less reliant on loan players and have brought in more additions from smaller clubs. Their only loanee, Zeno Rossi, is a good addition. The club still have major holes in the squad. A week before the season, they have no senior goalkeeper. A loan signing may arrive soon, but such poor organisation does not bode well. Dyer still has a lot of work to do for Kilmarnock to climb to their former heights. It is a difficult task with limited resources. But he has a good rapport with players and has shown some promising signs at the back end of last season.

Target


Top six split. Kilmarnock should be looking to push for Europe, but with the club in turmoil they need a season to reorganise.