Kilmarnock

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Striker Bobby Wales says Dundee manager Steven Pressley has given him "belief" after moving to Dens Park on a season-long loan from Swansea City.

The 21-year-old arrives after fellow forward and Dundee captain Simon Murray, 34, was ruled out for an extended period with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

Scotland Under-21 cap Wales started his career at Kilmarnock, had a productive loan spell at Alloa Athletic and then joined Swansea last summer.

He has made only five substitute appearances for the Welsh club, scoring once, and also struggled for game time on loan at Huddersfield in the second half of last season.

All in all, Wales has scored 21 goals in 84 senior appearances.

"I'm familiar with my surroundings and the league," Wales told club media. "I'm just really happy to be playing football again.

"I want to try and score as many goals as I can. I don't think I've had a chat with a manager that has given me this much belief before."

Wales could make his debut in Saturday's Scottish Premiership trip to face city rivals Dundee United.

"You couldn't ask for a better game to start with and go and make a statement," he added. "As a team I believe we can do well."

Pressley is "very excited" to be working with Wales.

"He's a young player with high potential and already a proven track record within the Scottish Premiership," said the manager.

"It's our job to make him a better player and we think he's got big potential and a high ceiling."

Burton Albion have made a six-figure bid for Kilmarnock defender George Stanger, who is in the final year of his contract. Daily Record, external

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Hull City centre-back Cathal McCarthy hopes to "set a marker" and prove he can play first-team football during a season-long loan spell at Kilmarnock.

The 19-year-old has joined for the campaign from the newly promoted Premier League side, where he made six appearances last term.

The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international said: "I spoke to Liam Millar back in Hull, who spent time here, and James Furlong who was on loan at Motherwell. Both loved their time in Scotland.

"I want to set down a marker, prove to everyone that I'm good enough to play regular first-team football. As for the team, we want to push up the table and do better than we did last season."

Kilmarnock boss Neil McCann added: "He's a player that we looked at in January. It never happened but we kept tabs on him.

"We've had lots of very positive conversations with Hull. They've had a great deal of interest - from clubs north and south of the border - to get Cathal out on loan because of the impact he had on their first team.

"He's a defender that's shown lots of promise in the early stages of his career, and we're hoping to play a big part in his development, like we did, for example, with Findlay [Curtis] last season, and what we're looking to do with Bailey [Rice] this year."

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

Having been founded 116 years ago our county neighbours are still seeking a trophy win after Killie saw them off and progressed to the League Cup quarter-final.

It was an entertaining encounter for the neutrals though our habit of losing soft goals was there for all to see.

Killie fully deserved victory but opted to test the fans' nerves before bagging a last-minute winner.

A crowd of 11,356 was an excellent turnout from both sets of fans, proving again the Ayrshire derby is one of the best in the country.

I suspect we will see the best of Killie in the coming weeks with guys like Tyreece John-Jules, Aaron Tshibola and Mark O'Hara getting up to full fitness.

Special mention must go to captain Greg Kiltie, Tom Lowery and Michael Schjonning-Larsen, who have been putting in consistently top performances this season.

We have no game this weekend which will allow me to take in a junior match, possibly Kilwinning v Largs.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Hull City centre-half Cathal McCarthy, 19, is to join Kilmarnock on a season-long loan deal. Killie Chronicle, external

Kilmarnock fans, we asked for your views after Friday night's League Cup win over Ayr United to secure a spot in the quarter-finals.

Here's what some of you had to say:

James: It was all about the result and we managed to win. Three great finishes for the goals but we're conceding too many soft goals. Both Ayr goals came from careless passes from us. The last twenty minutes was all Killie and on balance I think we deserved to win. Michael Schjonning-Larsen was excellent and took his goal superbly. We're through and that's all that matters but major work required for the defence.

Joe: Ayr had two shots at goal and scored with both of them, Killie struggled to break down their defence but our class (as always) told in the end.

Matt: Good to get the win but still so many questions need answered. The back four are horrendous and the diamond doesn't work. Seems like Neil McCann is trying to shoehorn players into the team rather than playing a suitable formation. Need signings soon or the league could slip away pretty quick!

Frank: Overall we certainly were the better team and scored three good goals. It could have been more if only we were braver and flooded their box with more players as there had been some excellent crosses with nobody to take advantage. Defence again was a bit shaky and Max Stryjek did not cover himself in glory with both goals. The substitutions made the difference which McCann must take credit. A great crowd saw an exciting game with the better team winning.

Eddie: A thrilling game but we can't go on defending like this. Both Jamie Brandon and George Stanger struggled again we need to strengthen up quickly in both positions.

James C: Would be great to get through the first five minutes of each half without conceding. As for Tom Lowery, Ayr must be glad to see the back of him. What a performance, my man of the match by far.

Kilmarnock survived a scare against bitter local rivals Ayr United to reach the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup thanks to a dramatic late turnaround at Rugby Park.

Read the full match report here.

Let us know your thoughts here.

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Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann tells BBC Scotland: "Congratulations to Ayr United for their quality and their endeavour. It's always difficult when you're the side that's having to make the game.

"We showed a lot of character tonight. There's a lot of pressure on this game, let's not kid ourselves. The fans that turned out were magnificent, and I'm so happy our boys showed the quality to put us in the quarter-finals.

"We need to use this as a catalyst. There's clearly a lot of work to be done. But it's nothing to do with confidence after two games, we know where we're going.

"This was always going to be difficult. Ayr have come here with their tails up and they asked us questions. The quality of our three finishes was magnificent, our intent to keep going when we could have sat off for extra time.

"Nobody can say we didn't deserve it. We were the team in control of the match, they had a bit of quality on the counter attack. Tonight, we can celebrate. I've told them to go and enjoy it.

"This is a cup game. I'm only concentrating on us having a bit of character, a bit of grit. Yes, we conceded two goals, but we showed a lot of guts, and I'm so happy."

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Kilmarnock boss Neil McCann is looking forward to Friday's meeting with local rivals Ayr United in the Premier Sports Cup after experiencing the big derbies in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee as a player.

Reflecting on his experiences with Rangers, Hearts and Dundee, McCann said: "If you connect with the club that you're with, you feel the pain when it doesn't go well. I've experienced both. The highs are very high, the lows are very low.

"I want the players to feel what we're getting from the Kilmarnock fans going into this game.

"I was at a game on Tuesday and I was getting fans stopping me saying they didn't care if we didn't win another game 'just beat them'...

"I tend to remove myself from that isolation, I've got to look at the bigger picture. But I get it. I completely get it. The boys get it as well."

McCann has a few boyhood Kilmarnock fans in his squad, including Greg Kiltie and Rory McKenzie.

"It's really nice to have one or two in the dressing room that have that connection by coming through at a young age," said McCann, who will go head-to-head with former Hearts and Scotland team-mate Gary Naysmith at Rugby Park.

"We know what it means to the fans but it means the same to us. My job, and all the staff's job, is to make sure that they remember that.

"Every derby, I respect what it means to both sets of fans," said the 52-year-old, who also played for Southampton against Portsmouth in the Premier League.

"Glasgow, Dundee, Edinburgh, South Coast. It's just the same. It's the same passion, it's the same elation, it's the same pain you're going to feel, depending on what side of the result you're on.

"My job is to prepare us, give us a tactical plan that I believe is good enough to beat Ayr United. Then they've got to reach inside and do the job and perform.

"If we perform like I know we can perform, we'll win the game. It's as simple as that. If we don't, we won't win the game. That's sport, and that's the level we're operating in now. Lots of teams within the Championship are showing they're good sides."

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

I wrote again last week about the need for an experienced centre-half, and the drubbing from Celtic simply highlighted the problem.

It was not all on the players, however, as the manager set us up in a very positive system then failed to change it when it was clearly being ruthlessly exploited by our opponents.

Neil McCann has credit in the bank for his excellent effort last season. But his time at Dundee was blighted by defensive issues and he quickly needs to learn to have a plan B or C.

The fans love seeing an attacking team, but it has to be done in a responsible manner while not cruelly exposing the backline to counter-attacks.

It's still very early days and Friday night offers us a great opportunity to kickstart the season when our trophy-free neighbours come calling.

It will be a cracking atmosphere and a decent win here will bring some positivity for the tougher challenges that lie ahead.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

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Greg Kiltie says Kilmarnock players "would be silly" to write off Neil McCann's style so early in the season.

After progressing to the next round of the League Cup, albeit only scoring two goals in their group stage campaign, Kilmarnock have lost both of their opening Premiership matches.

A 4-3 defeat at St Johnstone in their first game of the season was followed up by Sunday's 5-1 defeat at Rugby Park to champions Celtic.

And with nine goals conceded in two games, midfielder Kiltie insists the side need to shore up at the back.

"Defensively we need to be so much stronger and not give away the goals we are giving away at the moment," he said.

"We pressed them [Celtic] high, but once they got in our area we still needed to defend so much better. Maybe they got chances from us being open, but I don't think the goals necessarily came from that. We need to take it on the chin and do so much better individually and collectively defensively."

McCann took over following the departure of Stuart Kettlewell towards the end of last season as Kilmarnock were struggling at the bottom of the table.

The former Dundee boss managed to keep the Ayrshire club in the Premiership and avoided the relegation play-off, while also playing some decent football.

And Kiltie insists they still believe in the manager's approach.

"He obviously believes in it," the former St Mirren midfielder said.

"He sees how we do it in training. If he believes in it and we believe in it then we're hoping it all comes together. Doing it in training is one thing, doing it in a game is another.

"I do think we need to be so much better than what we've shown. We have given very cheap goals away and that is hard to come back from in games. It kills the momentum for us. We need to keep believing in ourselves.

"It is only the second game of the season and it would be silly to write it off."

Watch the Sportscene panel analyse Kilmarnock's performance in their 5-1 defeat to Celtic and discuss Michael Schjonning-Larsen's goal for the Ayrshire side.

Kilmarnock fans, we asked for your views following Sunday's heavy 5-1 defeat at home to Celtic.

Here's what some of you said:

Iain: As I said last week this was a disaster waiting to happen. Defensively to give away a goal in two minutes, and the same in the second half, shows naivety, a lack of concentration and just plain lack of spirit. People pay to watch this and are let down when players really do not earn their wages. Desperate stuff really.

Adam: Two games and nine goals leaked, sadly this is going to be a long hard season already. Just not good enough. It's not as if the goals were worldies or anything but mostly our own making. We need to strengthen the defence.

Gary: Shambolic. No matter what the set up was the defending was shambolic. Once again it's obvious we need better defenders. Nine goals in two games even this early is relegation form.

Jay: Defence posted missing. The set up was totally wrong to face a team as good as Celtic are. That said, there's no lack of effort from the players. Better not lose on Friday against Ayr or that will turn the support against them. It's a must-win and very convincingly to get our season back on track.

Derek: I think that Neil McCann needs to concentrate more on the football and less on the new pitch because the opposition aren't going to play badly on the new surface.

Alan: Absolutely abysmal, making Celtic look like world beaters which they are far from. The man in charge has had a full pre-season to find a dominant centre-half and until now has failed. A commanding player to lead the defence would make such a difference to that team but as it stands Friday could be another horrendous debacle in a long list of capitulations against Ayr Utd. I so hope I'm wrong.

Kasper Hogh scored his first Celtic goals as his hat-trick steered Celtic to an emphatic victory away to Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership in the absence of Martin O'Neill.

Read the full match report here.

Let us know your thoughts here.

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Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann told BBC Sportsound: "I'll take responsibility for that today.

"I know we made some mistakes on the pitch but I went quite quite aggressive today and quite open. We've made some errors within that and we were punished by a really good Celtic side. When their tails are up you can see how well they move it around.

"I actually thought we responded really well after the first goal and created chances but we were just a wee bit short of quality in terms of the final execution to get us back into the game. The second one was a sore one, followed quickly by the third, and that's when you're looking for a wee bit of character.

"It's easy to shut up shop and lick your wounds to see it out but that's not who I want us to be. We got them in at half-time, had a chat about details and how we were exposed and wanted to press Celtic. Then we adjusted it but conceded a quick goal with another mistake. That seems to have been the way today.

"I take responsibility and we'll work on it this week. We've got a massive game on Friday in the cup against Ayr United and we'll look to put things right.

"As a coach and manager you have full belief in your team and I was confident we would perform today. We've been punished for mistake but after the first goal we really responded.

"It's not a game-changer losing an early goal, losing a man early on would be a game-changer. We showed character and bravery to play, carved out opportunities and I thought we were actually the better team in the early parts of the game.

"But Celtic have the quality that if you do make mistakes they have the ability to punish you, and that's how it turned out."

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Kilmarnock defender Robbie Deas serves the second of a two-match ban after picking up too many yellow cards last season. Tyreece John-Jules is OK after coming off against St Johnstone last week with a facial knock.

Celtic winger Jota returned to training for the first time since April 2025 after recovering from an ACL injury but is weeks away from a comeback. Defender Liam Scales concludes his two-match ban for breaching the yellow cards threshold last term.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Kilmarnock may be yet to train on their new grass-hybrid pitch, but it's fair to say manager Neil McCann is excited about the "sensational" surface.

"I just feel that Rugby Park was always known as having a brilliant surface," said McCann.

"So, hopefully we get a big crowd coming in on the back of the home form last season. I know they'll be disappointed by the last weekend but we look to try and put that right."

Killie opened their Scottish Premiership season with a 4-3 defeat by St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park and welcome champions Celtic on Sunday.

And McCann says the new pitch will not change their game tactically at all, although he admits his side will have an advantage over the visiting teams as "it allows you to train on it".

"You've got a certain knowledge of maybe the hard surface and how it may bounce," he explained.

"The pitch won't change how we play. Hopefully, that will help us even more because we are a team that wants to play. We take a lot of risk in our play."