BBC Football

Kilmarnock 'need support more than ever' but patience wearing thin

Q: What is this sports story about?

Kilmarnock climb out of bottom spot, but failure to beat 10 men at home adds to gloom at Rugby Park.

Q: Who published this story?

This story was published by BBC Football on November 1, 2026 and curated on Africa Front.

Q: What related topics does this story cover?

Trade & AfCFTA, Infrastructure, African Football, African Technology, African Sports

November 1, 2026

Share Report:

Kilmarnock 'need support more than ever' but patience wearing thin

Published4 hours ago

Four goals shared, some excellent football played, and a plethora of chances created by the home side. All greeted on the final whistle by a loud, piercing chorus of boos and some angry finger-pointing by sections of the Kilmarnock support.

That such fan fury follows a result that actually moved the Ayrshire side off the bottom of the Scottish Premiership tells its own story.

The patience of the Rugby Park regulars appears to be wearing thin. A worry for under-pressure manager Neil McCann, whose side have only enjoyed two league wins all season.

To fail to beat St Johnstone at home when the visitors played for 80 minutes with 10 men would be a difficult one for any manager to swallow, never mind one for whom every win must feel like a life jacket in stormy sea.

"The most galling thing is they've scored two goals with 10 men - that's a sore one," McCann told BBC Scotland.

"We need the support more than ever. The players are working with everything they've got. There's no lack of willingness or effort to win games.

"We're all hurting that we don't win the games. We haven't lost the game today, but it feels like a loss because we dropped two points from a good position.

"Do I feel the pressure? No. I feel it for the boys because they're getting pressure applied."

Numbers positive but outcome not

It's not that Kilmarnock played badly. They didn't.

That match statistics back that up. McCann's men carved out 22 goal attempts - their highest total in a league match all season. They also attempted 542 passes - their highest in a single Premiership game this term.

It shouldn't be forgotten, of course, that they played against 10 men for most of the match. That's the hardest pill for the manager to swallow.

"The amount of chances we created... we just didn't take them, " McCann said. "That being said, a man up, 2-1 up, you shouldn't lose two points.

"Sometimes when you're a man up it's difficult because that team are working ever so hard - it's difficult to play against and it requires patience."

That could be the biggest problem the former Rangers and Hearts winger faces. Patience in modern football is usually in extremely short supply.

Having lost their previous two matches, a return of one point from the past available nine won't soothe any grumbles with an already disaffected support.

"I felt the uneasiness around the stadium, even when we were 2-1 up," he added. "And the players looked like they were being affected by it."

"We rushed things and, when it gets to 2-2, with lots of time left, there's no need to panic. We got into good areas, but we just lacked that quality."

The problem for McCann, and Kilmarnock, is that their last match before the international break is away to the defending champions and league leaders, Celtic.

Martin O'Neill's men scored five at Rugby Park in August. On their past three trips to Glasgow's east end on league business, Kilmarnock have conceded 13 goals.

It's a ground the Ayrshire side haven't won at since October 2012.

You get the picture. A club - and a manager - with only two wins from their past 11 in all competitions may find it hard to repair fragile confidence in an arena they usually find particularly hostile.

Their season won't be defined by results at Celtic Park, though. It's the games that follow against Aberdeen, St Mirren and Hibs that will determine just how a rocky a road lies ahead, both for Kilmarnock and for McCann.