Kilmarnock

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Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann: "It's like a repeating movie - giving teams an early goal. It's always going to be difficult.

"I thought we came into the match, and on reflection we were the better side.

"But we can't keep sticking that record on. It's a difficult one to take right now. It's difficult to have a go at them - their application levels were brilliant and we played some great football.

"We created chances. We hit the bar three times and missed a couple more. We should have taken something from the game, but if you make a mistake like that early in the game you're going to get punished.

"The mistake happens and then you have boys who are trying to recover that mistake and take themselves out of position - and bang you're 1-0 down.

"It's a sore one."

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Aberdeen are set to welcome centre-half Mats Knoester and on-loan Hoffenheim midfielder Dennis Geiger back into contention.

But Nicky Devlin, Kristers Tobers and Nick Suman remain out.

Marley Watkins and Jack Thomson will be assessed by Kilmarnock head coach Neil McCann.

However, Tyreece John-Jules, Djenairo Daniels and Matty Kennedy are sidelined.

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Aaron Tshibola has lost one relegation battle with Kilmarnock, but the London-born midfield player is confident it won't happen again.

The DR Congo international is in his fourth stint with Killie, having initially signed on loan from Aston Villa in 2018 under Steve Clarke.

In his third spell in the 2020-21 season, under Alex Dyer and then Tommy Wright, Killie finished second bottom of the Premiership and couldn't beat the drop, losing to Dundee in the play-off final.

This time, though, he says it will be different.

"The team's positive," fan favourite Tshibola said.

"With the recent games that we've had, we have every right to be positive, we feel things are going to change for us.

"We have a good atmosphere around the camp. It feels totally different to the last time, so much more positivity going around, the team, everyone believes in it.

"We know what we can do, we've shown it in games, and we most definitely feel like we can turn it around.

"Personally, having seen some of the clubs around us, I believe we're definitely one of the better ones, if we're judging based on our recent games.

"I see the last five games as five finals and we have to win every game, there's no way around it."

The 16-cap international's travels have taken him to clubs in Belgium, Turkey, Dubai and Portugal, as well as a host of English sides. He rejoined Killie in a surprise January move, having most recently played for Levadiakos in Greece.

Since returning, Tshibola has been impressed with the club's latest management team of Neil McCann and assistant Billy Dodds.

"Every gaffer's had their own way of doing things. Since I've come in, they've been nothing but amazing," he said.

"Everybody has really just embraced the fact that they've come in and changed things around.

"They're really demanding of us in training, I think you can see in games how hard we're working.

"We have one of the highest stats in terms of running capacity now, I believe it's a reflection of how they've been with us and the demands they put upon us and how much they've been able to get out of the team."

Keeping Killie in the Premiership would mean a lot to the much- travelled midfielder who has taken the Ayrshire club to his heart since his first spell with the club.

"It's a great club, great people in the club," he adds.

"I remember obviously coming in on my first loan from down south, and at the time it was a difficult period for me in my career, being so young.

"I remember Killie just giving me the platform and really just giving me everything that I needed at that time, and that always had a massive place in my heart from then on."

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• Aberdeen have won their first game after the Scottish Premiership split in five of the past seven seasons (L2), with two of those wins coming against Kilmarnock in 2017-18 (2-0) and 2018-19 (1-0).

• Kilmarnock have only won their first game after the split in three of their past 18 top-flight campaigns (D2 L13), although one of those was last season, beating Ross County 2-0.

• Aberdeen have won eight of their past nine Scottish Premiership home games against Kilmarnock, losing the other 1-0 in December 2023.

• None of Aberdeen and Kilmarnock's past 15 league meetings have been drawn, with the Dons winning nine and Killie winning six since a 2-2 stalemate in March 2020.

• Kevin Nisbet has scored in his past five home games in the Premiership (eight goals), the first player to do so for Aberdeen since Adam Rooney in December 2015. The last player to score in six successive home appearances for any side in the competition was Kevin van Veen in May 2023, while the last Scottish player to do so was Kris Doolan in May 2017.

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann has been talking to the media before his team's Scottish Premiership trip to Aberdeen on Saturday.

Here are the key points from his news conference:

• McCann wants his team to go "full throttle" for the final five matches as they try to escape the relegation play-off spot.

• He won't accept any player going around with "faces tripping them". He believes morale in the squad is high and that has been reflected in recent performances. "We've shown in games that we're very much together, we understand what's going on, we're not stupid."

• The tight nature at both ends of the table brings a "wonderful excitement", according to the Killie boss.

• McCann is keen to use the split to prove they are better than their league position suggests: "All the teams in the bottom six we are going to face have their own strengths, but I believe we are a team that can really make a mark, and in the last five games it gives us an opportunity just to show how good we can be."

• And he is bullish about their chances, starting at Pittodrie: "I'm expecting a big performance from our boys on Saturday. I'm looking to try and go and win five games."

• Killie beat Aberdeen 3-0 in January and defeated Stephen Robinson's St Mirren 4-3 in February, but McCann isn't reading too much into those results. He says: "Beating St Mirren when Stevie was the manager, irrelevant really, but we've come out on the right side of both of those games. I think we are better than what we were when we beat Aberdeen here. I'm very aware of how Stevie plays, I'm very aware of how Aberdeen have been playing. We'll respect our opponents, but this is about us."

• Team news: Marley Watkins is still not fully fit, Jack Thomson is a doubt after picking up a "nick" in training, but other than that Killie are "full steam ahead".

We asked for your views on which Kilmarnock player has failed to live up to expectations this season.

Here are some of your comments:

David: Well - there's a few this season but number one has to be Dom Thompson, quickly followed by Tom Lowery and Scott Tiffoney and why oh why did we re-sign Kyle Magennis?

Jason: For me it's been David Watson. Being what is to be his final season for us, I thought he would grab this last opportunity to really shine and go out with a bang. Instead, it's been a whimper and you can see he has had his mind elsewhere for the majority of it. Shame really.

Robin: Watson has been a huge disappointment. He had the potential to drive the whole team forward but has drifted into the shadows and has added nothing to the team's fight for survival. At one point he was on a par with Lennon Miller and now he can't even get a start for us.

Frank: It has to be Robbie Deas. He seems to have lost his confidence which has made his judgement a bit suspect. He may have relied too much last season on Stuart Findlay and Joe Wright.

Tom: Liam Polworth always flatters to deceive - he is not Premier League class - gives the ball away far too often and lacks any " dig " in the tackle. Get rid.

Last week we asked for your Kilmarnock player of the year - and Tyreece John-Jules was a no-brainer.

Now we want to know the Rugby Park player who has been the biggest disappointment this season.

It could be a new signing who has underwhelmed or an existing squad member who has failed to kick on.

Share your thoughts here.

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

I must confess that when the split was introduced into the Scottish leagues I thought it was convoluted and meaningless.

Fast forward to now and it really does create excitement at both ends of the table, even though Killie could do without being involved.

Our poor recruitment last summer both in terms of management and players is the main reason we find ourselves in real danger of getting dragged into the play-offs.

It's a tense time for fans and players alike but we still have five games left to rescue our season.

We start with a difficult trip to Aberdeen where our record is poor. However, a win at Pittodrie was the catalyst to our great run into Europe two years ago.

It looked like we had sorted out our defensive frailties when we managed successive clean sheets recently but we lapsed against Dundee and maybe the manager should look at a couple of changes.

I'm heading for a sociable trip on the train and predict we will battle to a 1-1 draw.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Ray Bradshaw will be joined by fans up and down the country on Monday for This Is Fans Only to discuss the weekend's biggest points.

Supporters will come on live and viewers will get the chance to join in on the debate, as well.

The show will be broadcast live on the BBC Sport Scottish Football YouTube channel at 18:00 BST.

To make sure you don't miss any bespoke video content, make sure to subscribe to the channel HERE, external.

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We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's player of the season.

Here's what some of you said:

William: Tyreece John-Jules was my player of the season. He is what you want to see in a striker but got injured when he was at his peak.

Dougie: For Killie player of the year it has to be Aaron Tshibola. A late arrival to the squad following Stuart Kettlewell's departure but he is the ingredient we were missing in the first half of the season. Had we had him from the start of the season we wouldn't be second bottom just now. A solid, attacking midfielder, can put his foot on the ball, rarely loses possession and links the defence to the attack. He has to be a signing priority for the 26/27 season.

Matt: Greg Kiltie.

William: Kelle Roos is a legend.

Frank: John-Jules by a county mile.

Anna: I would have to say a toss-up between Findlay Curtis and Max Stryjek. Max was a huge presence in goal for us, nothing fazed him. It was only his health issues that hindered his progress this season but if he keeps fit and well, he could well be our number one goal keeper next season.

It's fair to say it's been a turbulent season at Rugby Park.

The end of Stuart Kettlewell's tenure, the appointment of Neil McCann, numerous injuries and a desperate fight for Premiership survival.

Currently in the relegation play-off spot, only five points separate 11th and eighth in the table with five games to go.

But who has been a standout amid the Killie chaos?

We want to know your choice for the Rugby Park club's player of the year. Tell us here

Sandy Armour
Fan writer

Prior to the game on Saturday I attended the Killie Trust event and had the privilege of interviewing Willie Watters, a true hero to myself and countless other Killie fans.

Willie recalled some great memories of his time at the Theatre of Pies and it reminded me of how those were my favourite times as a Killie fan.

My thoughts before the Dundee game were we needed to win if we want to avoid the play-off place.

Unfortunately we managed only one point rather than all three so it is going to be extremely difficult for us to climb higher than 11th.

We are only two points behind St Mirren but it's our poor away form that kills any optimism I may have.

Saturday was a microcosm of our season as a whole. We had chances to put the game to bed but poor goalkeeping and weak defending contributed to us missing out on an invaluable win.

When we got relegated it was down to those two glaring weaknesses in the team and I pray history is not repeating itself.

There is time for us to recover but it will require instant improvement on our travels. We head to Aberdeen a week on Saturday while St Mirren host Livingston so we need to get something at a ground where we have a poor record.

Sandy Armour is editor of The Killie Hippo fanzine

Kilmarnock moved a point closer to safety on Saturday when they drew 2-2 with Dundee in an action-packed game where they led twice but then needed a late penalty save from Kelle Roos to avoid defeat.

The result brought the team a point closer to 10th-placed St Mirren and boosted hopes of climbing away from the relegation play-off spot in the post-split fixtures.

Former Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell thinks the team has been demonstrating the ability to get the results they need but is concerned by defensive lapses that could prove costly if they aren't eradicated.

He told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast: "I do think they've got enough. They need to start showing it on a little bit of a more consistent basis.

"They've got some games now where they're obviously facing everybody in the bottom six that they can go and make huge margins by winning games of football.

"I think they've got players going forward that can score goals. Defensively, it's always concerned me this season about Kilmarnock conceding far too many goals. And again, at the weekend, you look at the goals they conceded.

"Simon Murray, a top striker, is standing in the middle of the six-yard box all alone just to head into the back of the net. That's not acceptable. You're going to lose goals if you allow players like that the space and time in the box.

"So Neil McCann needs to find a way to be tighter defensively, not gift teams goals, and I think they'll be OK if they can do that. But they've got some big, big games coming up."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

Kelle Roos (Kilmarnock): Not the finest all-round performance but came up clutch deep into stoppage time to deny Dundee from the spot and save a potentially priceless point for Killie.

Alexander Jensen (Aberdeen): Pushed back a little bit but impressed at wing-back against Hibernian. Tanked up and down the touchline and coped well when Hibs were trying to put him under pressure.

Krisztian Keresztes (Dundee United): Admittedly, not the finest weekend for defenders, but the substitute hauled United level with an important header to allow them to push on for a late win against Livingston.

Will Ferry (Dundee United): And here's the man who set him up. Ferry also opened the scoring with a superb solo goal at Tannadice.

Hyun-jun Yang (Celtic): Few in green and white impressed in a narrow win over St Mirren at Celtic Park, but the South Korean showed up again.

Nicolas Raskin (Rangers): For his second-half showing at Falkirk. The Belgium international was like a man possessed after the break with an abundance of fight, quality and creativity on show. Displayed his very best as Rangers ripped Falkirk apart in a bonkers second 45.

Beni Baningime (Hearts): Back alongside Cammy Devlin in the engine room and back pulling the strings for Hearts. A classy performance - again - in the crucial win over Motherwell.

Emmanuel Gyamfi (Aberdeen): Outside his needless incident with Hibs striker Owen Elding, for which he was shown a yellow card after a VAR review, the wide man was Aberdeen's biggest threat in one of his better performances for the Dons. Hooked balls in at every chance he could, something Stephen Robinson will be desperate to see more of.

Sabah Kerjota (Hearts): Came on in the 66th minute and immediately became Hearts' set-piece taker, whipping in inviting deliveries - including one that led to the second goal. His cameo performances have impressed to the point there is clamour for him to start the upcoming Edinburgh derby over Alexandros Kyziridis.

Kevin Nisbet (Aberdeen): The man grateful for those deliveries from Gyamfi. Kept his cool from the spot against his former side before smashing the much-needed second over the line... just. Big, big goals and an equally impressive all-round performance.

Lewis Smith (Livingston): Doing all he can to keep Livingston in the league, chipping in with another two goals. Even if the Lions are relegated, which is increasingly likely, Smith should remain in the top flight. One wouldn't think he'd be short of suitors.

Watch all four goals of Kilmarnock's draw against Dundee.

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Neil McCann is confident that Kilmarnock can draw away from the William Hill Premiership drop zone after the split.

Killie remain in the relegation play-off berth but edged to within two points of St Mirren thanks to a dramatic 2-2 home draw with Dundee on Saturday.

McCann felt his team merited more than a point, even though they relied on Kelle Roos saving a stoppage-time penalty after an eight-minute VAR delay.

The ex-Dundee boss has steered the Ayrshire side to four wins and a draw from their last six Rugby Park contests, losing only to Celtic in injury-time.

Killie kick off their post-split schedule with a trip to Aberdeen a week on Saturday before hosting Dundee United.

McCann said: "It's five games we're going into after the break, so there's a lot of hard work ahead of us. But if they show how they played for most of the match – and the bravery they tried to play with – then I'm confident.

"The players are really disappointed. But it's not disappointment in the performance. We should have won; we were the better side. We've improved massively and played some brilliant football.

"Dundee didn't have to work hard for their second goal. It's a soft one conceded by our standards. But they will recover, have a couple of days off and there's no question they'll be positive coming back in."

We asked for your views on Kilmarnock's 2-2 draw against Dundee. Here's what some of you said:

Eddie: I know we've had a really poor season but in this game there were 31 fouls given, about half of them were very soft. Ross Hardie, not for the first time this season, seems to leave his common sense in the building when he steps over the white line. We deserved nothing more than a point, another hard watch.

Frank: It felt like points dropped. Same old defensive let downs. Has been the story of our season. We are now in the cut-throat part of the season where all the teams in the bottom-six are capable of beating each other. Going to be interesting but listening to Neil McCann, he is full of confidence which is not a bad thing.

Robert: Says everything when the referee is Dundee's best player - a shocking performance. Then the penalty decision at the end is a joke. Over 13 minutes from award to penalty being take.

Kenny: Should have killed the game in the second half before they got the equaliser. Absolutely nobody in the ground thought that was a penalty in the last minute apart from the referee. He was very poor and there has to be some punishment for him. Anybody who knows anything about football will understand that it's simply not a penalty. VAR is useless.

Robert: We couldn't take our chances, a lot of backwards play and apart from the penalty save, the goalkeeper was saved by VAR after losing the ball and rushing out for Dundee's second. Once again, the refereeing decisions were baffling, and it appeared every time a Dundee player fell to the ground it was a foul. Time for independent review on inconsistency, all teams have had issues with referees.

Second-bottom Kilmarnock edged a point closer to St Mirren - and safety - in the Scottish Premiership, but only after surviving an agonising wait and a stoppage-time Dundee penalty award at Rugby Park.

MATCH REPORT

HAVE YOUR SAY

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Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann spoke to BBC Scotland following Saturday's 2-2 draw with Dundee, which ended with the visitors missing a penalty deep into added time after a lengthy VAR delay.

Jamie Brandon was penalised for a challenge on Scott Wright and Joe Westley's spot-kick was saved by Killie goalkeeper Kelle Roos.

"It was chaos," McCann said. "It's a ridiculous situation when the referee's got to come over and he's got to judge whether that's offside or not. I think it was offside. I don't think it's a penalty either. It's so soft. There's a wee bit of contact but this is a contact sport, he's clearly not going to get on the ball. Kelle makes a good save.

"We were told that they couldn't calibrate the machine and they couldn't get the lines in and then they've had to support the on-field decision.

"I'm standing here probably a bit disappointed we've not got three points from the game. You're looking at a game that we probably deserve three points, I feel certainly, that we could've got nothing. In hindsight, maybe tomorrow it might look like a good point.

"We just didn't take a couple of chances that came our way but I can't have any complaints in how we approached the game. I thought the boys were brilliant. They were brave, loads of courage, worked their socks off."

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Kilmarnock forward Marley Watkins will be assessed.

But Tyreece John-Jules, Djenairo Daniels and Matty Kennedy remain out.

Dundee are without suspended defender Ryan Astley, while winger Tony Yogane is doubtful with an Achilles strain and centre-half Clark Robertson remains out.

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Former Kilmarnock forward Cillian Sheridan says a Killie win on Saturday will drag back Dundee into the relegation play-off fight.

Neil McCann's side saw a slight upturn in form before the international break - winning back-to-back games for the first time all season, however, their 3-0 loss to Hibs last weekend still has Killie in the play-off spot.

Sheridan is expecting a four-horse race for safety as Killie welcome Dundee to Rugby Park tomorrow afternoon.

"If Kilmarnock can go and win, and get three points, it drags Dundee really into it." he told the BBC Scottish Football Podcast.

"I feel like Dundee are well and truly in a fight with all those teams. And it's sets up a great fixture for going into their post-split fixtures.

"I know all the chat has been about the top six, the way it's kind of worked out, it's set up for a real good build-up into that for the bottom six, which usually gets overshadowed by the top-six fixtures.

"So I'm just looking forward to see how all that plays out. I don't think we really would have anticipated so many teams competing for 11th place."

Hibernian Women's coach Joelle Murray also weighed in on the debate, believing Killie's improved defence may prove key in Saturday's battle.

"They're making Rugby Park a fortress now, making it a difficult place to go", she said.

"I think at the back end of the pitch they're not conceding as much as they have been. It'll be a very, very interesting game.

"Three points for Kilmarnock will put them right back on the coattails of the teams above them.

"It won't be an easy game, Dundee are turning things around under Steven Presley, picking up form at the most important point of the season."