Kilmarnock

The club

Kilmarnock were founded on 5 January 1869 and describe themselves as the oldest professional football club in Scotland. They play at Rugby Park in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, a ground opened on 1 August 1899 and rebuilt as an all-seater between 1994 and 1995 to a design that began with Archibald Leitch. Capacity is 15,003 across the Frank Beattie Stand, the Moffat Stand, the Chadwick Stand and the East Stand. The club play in blue and white, historically striped, and are known as Killie or the Pride of Ayrshire. Supporters adopted Marie Osmond's "Paper Roses" as an unofficial anthem.

Rugby Park laid an artificial 3G surface in the summer of 2014 and replaced it with a hybrid artificial surface in the 2019 close season. The club announced in November 2023 an intention to return to natural grass by 2025; the sources read do not establish whether that has been completed. The ground has hosted four Scotland football internationals, in 1894, 1910 and twice in 1997, and in November 2016 staged Scotland against Georgia at rugby union, the first rugby international involving a tier one nation played on an artificial surface.

Recent seasons

Kilmarnock finished fifth in the Premiership in 2019/20 and then 11th in 2020/21, losing the relegation play-off and going down. They came straight back up as Championship champions in 2021/22. Back in the top flight they were tenth in 2022/23, fourth in 2023/24, which was their strongest finish of the run, and tenth again in 2024/25.

In 2025/26 they were tenth once more, with 40 points from 38 games: ten wins, ten draws and 18 defeats, 50 goals scored and 68 conceded, a goal difference of minus 18. Their longest losing run of that season was six matches. They finished level on points with Aberdeen in ninth and two clear of the play-off place, which went to St Mirren, who kept their Premiership status by beating Partick Thistle 2-1 on aggregate. Livingston finished bottom on 21 points and were relegated.

Honours and landmarks

The league title of 1964/65 is the club's one championship of the top division, won on the final day. Three Scottish Cups: 1919/20, 1928/29 and 1996/97. One Scottish League Cup, 2011/12, won by beating Celtic 1-0 in the final. Below the top flight they have won the First Division in 1975/76, 1978/79, 1981/82 and 1992/93, the Second Division in 1989/90 and the Championship in 2021/22. They have won the Ayrshire Cup 42 times.

Record attendance at Rugby Park is 35,995 against Rangers in a Scottish Cup quarter-final on 10 March 1962. Alan Robertson holds the appearance record with 607 matches between 1972 and 1989. Willie Culley is the leading scorer with 159 goals between 1911 and 1923. The record fee received is £1.9m from Rangers for Steven Naismith in August 2007.

The title of 1964/65 took Kilmarnock into the European Cup in 1965/66. Their best European run came the following season, 1966/67, when they reached the semi-finals of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup and were eliminated by Leeds United.

Notable scorelines

Record victory: 13-2 against Saltcoats Victoria on 12 September 1896. Record defeat: 1-9 against Celtic on 13 August 1938. The League Cup final of 18 March 2012 at Hampden, won 1-0 against Celtic, is the club's most recent major trophy and their only national honour since 1997.

Head-to-head notes

Kilmarnock do not publish all-time head-to-head records on their own website, and no published all-time record could be established for any of their 2026/27 Premiership opponents. The two contacts that can be dated precisely are recent cup ties. Kilmarnock drew 0-0 with Raith Rovers in the Premier Sports Cup group stage on 14 July 2026 and won the shootout 4-2. Kelty Hearts, a League Two club, knocked Kilmarnock out of the same competition on penalties in 2025, so the shootout habit cuts both ways.

The fixture with the most history behind it this season is not in the league at all: Kilmarnock were drawn at home to Ayr United in the League Cup second round on 14 August 2026, an Ayrshire derby at Rugby Park.

Right now (2026/27)

Neil McCann has been manager since 6 January 2026, appointed mid-season and now taking charge of his first full campaign. He managed Dundee from 2017 to October 2018 and had an interim spell at Inverness Caledonian Thistle in 2021, and coached under Barry Ferguson at Rangers in early 2025. As a player he won the Scottish Cup with Hearts in 1998 and three league titles with Rangers, and won 26 Scotland caps. Greg Kiltie is club captain.

The summer business was substantial in both directions. In: forward Ieuan Owen from Barry Town United on 2 June for an undisclosed fee; goalkeeper Calum Ferrie from Queen's Park on 19 June; midfielder Roshaun Mathurin from AS Trencin on a free on 23 June; midfielder Mark O'Hara from St Mirren on 28 June; midfielder Erik Ring from Lincoln City on 4 July for an undisclosed fee; and two more announced on 31 July, defender Johnly Yfeko and Jonathan Meier. Out: Lewis Mayo and Brad Lyons both to Aberdeen, Liam Polworth to Livingston, David Watson to Bolton Wanderers, Eddie Beach to Shelbourne, and Dominic Thompson to SK Beveren on 26 July. No fees were published for the departures. On 29 July the club announced a co-operation agreement with Queen of the South.

Kilmarnock won Premier Sports Cup Group H and reached the second round. They drew 0-0 with Raith Rovers on 14 July and won the shootout 4-2, beat Elgin City 1-0 on 18 July, beat Hamilton Academical 1-0 on 21 July, and drew 0-0 with Peterhead on 25 July, again taking the bonus point on penalties, 5-4. In pre-season they beat Glentoran 4-0 on 1 July and Linfield 3-2 on 4 July, both in Belfast.

The Premiership season starts on 31 July 2026. Kilmarnock's first league fixture is away to the newly promoted St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on 2 August 2026. Celtic visit Rugby Park early in the campaign; ticket details were published on 29 July.

Sources

Researched and written for not4quarters. Where a fact could not be established from the sources read, this page says so rather than guessing.