When Neil McCann swapped punditry for the Kilmarnock hotseat in January there was a mixed reaction from supporters.
Some were concerned about his ability to ‘walk the walk’ after just one previous permanent gig – an 18-month stint at Dundee where he won 20 of 60 games in charge.
But in steering Kilmarnock to Premiership safety with a game to spare, McCann has proved his doubters wrong.
At the time of his Rugby Park appointment, Killie had not won in 14 games and were second bottom of the table. The Ayrshire side hovered just four points above Livingston with a game in hand and five below St Mirren in 10th having played two matches more. Those gaps are now 16 and four points respectively, with Killie guaranteed to finish no lower than 10th.
He has won six out of eight home games, steered Kilmarnock to Premiership safety and could sneak up to ninth in the table depending on results in the final matches of the season.
McCann was appointed Kilmarnock head coach on 6 January on a contract running until the summer of 2028 with the club second bottom of the Scottish Premiership.
At the time Killie were just four points above bottom side Livingston with a game in hand. Now, they’re confirmed safe with a game to spare.
Since McCann’s appointment, Kilmarnock are fourth in the Premiership form table. Only Hearts, Celtic and Rangers have picked up more points in those 16 games than Killie’s 24, which is two more than top-six sides Motherwell and Falkirk.
Only title chasers Hearts and Celtic have won more games than Killie’s six in that time, while only Celtic and Rangers have scored more goals than McCann’s side’s (27.
The bedrock of McCann’s success has been home form, with his team winning six and losing just one of eight Rugby Park outings.
In fact, after Tuesday night’s 3-1 home win over Dundee, McCann became the first Killie head coach, of those appointed in the 21st century, to win six of his first eight top-flight home games.
Of his 16 league games in charge, McCann has won seven, with a points-per-game rate of 1.50. Albeit over a small sample size, that’s the joint-second best – alongside Mixu Paatelainen – of any Kilmarnock manager appointed this century, with only Steve Clarke boasting a better record (1.79).
In contract, Stuart Kettlewell, McCann’s predecessor, was in charge for 17 Scottish Premiership games, won two and lost nine with a points-per-game of 0.71.
Since McCann replaced Kettlewell, Killie have scored 10 more goals in one fewer game (27 under McCann compared to 17 under Kettlewell) and have conceded fewer – 29 compared to 32 in their previous 17 matches.
McCann boasts a win percentage of almost 44 per cent while under Kettlewell it was just over 11 per cent.
Now the next step for McCann is to continue Killie’s upward trajectory into next season and beyond.
