Football Season Guide

It’s been all change at Kilmarnock this summer, with long-serving manager Derek McInnes departing to join Hearts. While McInnes endured a disappointing last season at Killie, this was at least in part due to injury issues to key players. There was a lack of consistency in the Hearts squad, too. Not only did the team perform far better at home than they did on the road, but there was also evidence that key players struggled to show a steady level of performance. New manager Stewart Kettlewell, who was rather unfairly chased out of Motherwell due to the perception that he did not play exciting enough football for the fans, has tried to rectify this. He has employed a 3-5-2 formation in the club’s League Cup games and has sought primarily to steady the defence. A key figure in doing this is goalkeeper Max Stryjek, who has made a highly promising start to life at Rugby Park. George Stanger has been signed from Ayr after enjoying a strong campaign in the Championship. Brad Lyons’ energy is primed to play a big role in this new look Kilmarnock side. He has been asked to operate as a right wing-back so far under the new boss and seems well suited to the role, having bounced between midfield and defence last term. This is good news for David Watson, who failed to realise his potential last season. A similar player to Lennon Miller at Motherwell, Watson will hope to be given similar responsibility to the teenaged starlet. One area of concern for Kilmarnock is offensive. They have lost Danny Armstrong, who was so long their catalyst, and the highly promising youngster Bobby Wales while Matty Kennedy has been suffering yet more injury issues. Scott Tiffoney’s arrival from Dundee can only partially cover up these gaps. Upfront, meanwhile, Kettlewell has a preference for physical, hard-working forwards. He has four of these on his books, with Marcus Dackers looking the more promising of the new arrivals. Bruce Anderson is not a player to be underestimated, though. The question will be whether Kilmarnock can fashion enough for their forwards. So far, this looks doubtful.