Kilmarnock Football Club has turned to former Rangers winger Neil McCann in a dramatic bid to preserve their Scottish Premiership status. The 51-year-old has been handed the managerial reins at Rugby Park on a two-and-a-half-year contract, with the immediate and pressing objective of steering the Ayrshire side away from the relegation zone.
A Daunting Challenge at Rugby Park
McCann succeeds Stuart Kettlewell, who was dismissed last month following a disastrous sequence of results. Kilmarnock have not won a single league match since early October, a barren run now stretching to 14 games. This collapse has left the club in dire straits, sitting second from bottom in the table.
The situation is perilously tight. Killie are just four points ahead of bottom-placed Livingston, with the two teams set for a monumental showdown this weekend. That fixture will double as McCann's first game in charge, a high-stakes debut that could significantly define the club's season.
McCann's Backroom Team and Board Backing
McCann will be joined at the club by his former colleague Billy Dodds, who has been appointed as his assistant manager. The pair worked together last season as part of Barry Ferguson's interim backroom team at Rangers, departing Ibrox after Russell Martin's appointment. Both have signed deals keeping them at Kilmarnock until the summer of 2028.
In a statement, the Kilmarnock board expressed confidence in their new leadership duo. "We fully understand how important it was to get this appointment right," the statement read. "After a thorough process, we are assured that Neil and Billy have the qualities, experience and character required to lead Kilmarnock Football Club forward."
The board added: "We have complete faith in their ability to do what needs to be done to keep this club competing in the Scottish Premiership."
A Critical Return to Management
This role marks a significant return to frontline management for McCann. His only previous permanent managerial post was with Dundee between 2017 and 2018. More recently, he had a brief interim spell with Inverness in 2021 and spent last season coaching at Rangers before moving into television punditry.
He now takes over a squad five points adrift of safety, with the clear mandate to halt the slide and organise a great escape. The club's statement emphasised that both McCann and Dodds "know the Scottish league inside out, understand its demands and share a vision that aligns strongly with the culture and values of this football club."
All eyes will be on Rugby Park this weekend as the McCann era begins with arguably its most important fixture. Failure is not an option, with the spectre of a return to the Championship looming large if results do not improve rapidly.
