# 2020–21 Kilmarnock F.C. season

The 2020–21 season is Kilmarnock's eighth season in the Scottish Premiership, and their 28th consecutive season in the top flight of Scottish football. Kilmarnock also competed in the Scottish League Cup and the Scottish Cup.

## Overview

Kilmarnock began the 2020–21 season under the management of Alex Dyer who signed a two-year contract in June 2020, following his spell in temporary charge.
In the League Cup, Kilmarnock were drawn in Group E alongside Clyde, Dumbarton, Dunfermline Athletic and Falkirk. The competition is scheduled to start in October 2020.

## Results and fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers |
| 17 July 2020 | Motherwell | A | 3–2 | Kabamba 40', Trialist 75', Kiltie 81' |
| 22 July 2020 | Livingston | H | 1–2 | McKenzie 51' |
| 25 July 2020 | Dundee United | A | 1–1 | Kiltie 46' |
| 15 September 2020 | Alloa Athletic | A | 3–2 | Whitehall 49' (pen.), Warnock 85', Deveney 88' |

### Scottish Premiership

| Date | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | League position |
| 1 August 2020 | Hibernian | A | 1–2 | Burke 44' | 0 | 8th |
| 9 August 2020 | Celtic | H | 1–1 | Burke 24' (pen.) | 0 | 8th |
| 12 August 2020 | Ross County | A | 2–2 | Power 59', Burke 66' | 0 | 7th |
| 15 August 2020 | St Johnstone | H | 1–2 | Tshibola 61' | 0 | 8th |
| 22 August 2020 | Rangers | A | 0–2 | | 0 | 11th |
| 29 August 2020 | Dundee United | H | 4–0 | Kabamba 30', 79', Brophy 45+1', McKenzie 86' | 0 | 9th |
| 12 September 2020 | Aberdeen | A | 0–1 | | 300 | 10th |
| 19 September 2020 | Hamilton Academical | H | 2–1 | Kiltie 10', Kabamba 57' | 0 | 7th |
| 26 September 2020 | St Mirren | A | 1–0 | Kabamba 28' | 0 | 5th |
| 17 October 2020 | Livingston | A | 3–1 | Tshibola 24', Burke 37' (pen.), Kiltie 57' | 0 | 5th |
| 24 October 2020 | Hibernian | H | 0–1 | | 0 | 5th |
| 1 November 2020 | Rangers | H | 0–1 | | 0 | 6th |
| 6 November 2020 | St Johnstone | A | 0–1 | | 0 | 6th |
| 21 November 2020 | Ross County | H | 3–1 | Brophy 14', Kabamba 68' (pen.), Burke 90+3' | 0 | 6th |
| 5 December 2020 | Hamilton Academical | A | 0–1 | | 0 | 7th |
| 13 December 2020 | Celtic | A | 0–2 | | 0 | 8th |
| 20 December 2020 | Aberdeen | H | 0–2 | | 0 | 8th |
| 23 December 2020 | Dundee United | A | 0–2 | | 0 | 8th |
| 26 December 2020 | Livingston | H | 1–2 | Burke 48' (pen.) | 0 | 8th |
| 30 December 2020 | Motherwell | A | 2–0 | Kiltie 41', Whitehall 53' (pen.) | 0 | 8th |
| 2 January 2021 | St Mirren | H | 1–1 | Whitehall 12' | 0 | 8th |
| 9 January 2021 | Hamilton Academical | H | 2–0 | Kiltie 36', 63' | 0 | 7th |
| 16 January 2021 | Hibernian | A | 0–2 | | 0 | 7th |
| 27 January 2021 | Livingston | A | 0–2 | | 0 | 8th |
| 30 January 2021 | St Johnstone | H | 2–3 | Burke 5', Tshibola 32' | 0 | 8th |
| 2 February 2021 | Celtic | H | 0–4 | | 0 | 10th |
| 6 February 2021 | St Mirren | A | 0–2 | | 0 | 10th |
| 10 February 2021 | Motherwell | H | 0–1 | | 0 | 10th |
| 13 February 2021 | Rangers | A | 0–1 | | 0 | 10th |
| 20 February 2021 | Aberdeen | A | 0–1 | | 0 | 11th |
| 27 February 2021 | Dundee United | H | 1–1 | Medley 64' | 0 | 11th |
| 6 March 2021 | Ross County | A | 2–3 | Lafferty 18', 77' (pen.) | 0 | 12th |
| 13 March 2021 | Motherwell | H | 4–1 | Lafferty 1', McKenzie 55', Burke 57', Pinnock 83' | 0 | 11th |
| 10 April 2021 | Ross County | H | 2–2 | Burke 3', Pinnock 16' | 0 | 11th |
| 21 April 2021 | Dundee United | H | 3–0 | Lafferty 32', 35', 43' (pen.) | 0 | 10th |
| 1 May 2021 | Motherwell | A | 0–2 | | 0 | 11th |
| 12 May 2021 | St Mirren | H | 3–3 | Lafferty 8', 61', Kiltie 81' | 0 | 11th |
| 16 May 2021 | Hamilton Academical | A | 2–0 | Pinnock 9', 44' | 0 | 11th |

#### Notes

* ^ A: Kilmarnock's match against Motherwell on 2 October was postponed after six Kilmarnock players tested positive for COVID-19. Following an SPFL investigation, Motherwell were initially awarded a technical 3–0 win pending an appeal from Kilmarnock. However the result was eventually overturned and rescheduled for a later date.

#### Premiership play-off final

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Referee |
| 20 May 2021 | First leg | Dundee | A | 1–2 | Haunstrup 77' | 500 | John Beaton |
| 24 May 2021 | Second leg | Dundee | H | 1–2 | Lafferty 69' pen. | 500 | Bobby Madden |

### Scottish Cup

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 3 April 2021 | Third round | Stenhousemuir | A | 4–0 | Lafferty 38' (pen.), 45+1', 56', Oakley 87' | 0 |
| 17 April 2021 | Fourth round | Montrose | H | 3–1 | Lafferty 6', Steeves 24' (o.g.), Kiltie 61' | 0 |
| 26 April 2021 | Quarter-final | St Mirren | H | 3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–5p) | Rossi 37', Kiltie 44', Millen 101' (pen.) | 0 |

### Scottish League Cup
#### Group stage

| Date | Round | Opponents | H / A | Result F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| 6 October 2020 | Group stage | Falkirk | A | 0–3 | | 0 |
| 13 October 2020 | Group stage | Dunfermline Athletic | H | 0–3 | | 0 |
| 10 November 2020 | Group stage | Clyde | A | 2–0 | Whitehall 44', 49' | 0 |
| 14 November 2020 | Group stage | Dumbarton | H | 2–0 | Brophy 3', Pinnock 45+2' | 0 |

#### Notes

* ^ B: Falkirk were awarded a technical 3−0 win over Kilmarnock who were unable to raise a team after six players tested positive for COVID-19.

## Club statistics
### Competition Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Premiership | 1 August 2020 | 16 May 2021 | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 43 | 54 | −11 | 026.32 |
| Scottish Cup | 3 April 2021 | 26 April 2021 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 066.67 |
| League Cup | 6 October 2020 | 14 November 2020 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 050.00 |
| Total | Total | Total | 45 | 14 | 7 | 24 | 57 | 64 | −7 | 031.11 |
Source: Competitions

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 8 | Motherwell | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 39 | 55 | −16 | 45 | |
| 9 | Dundee United | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 32 | 50 | −18 | 44 | |
| 10 | Ross County | 38 | 11 | 6 | 21 | 35 | 66 | −31 | 39 | |
| 11 | Kilmarnock (R) | 38 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 43 | 54 | −11 | 36 | Qualification for the Premiership play-off final |
| 12 | Hamilton Academical (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 34 | 67 | −33 | 30 | Relegation to Championship |
* ↑ Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

### League Cup table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | DNF | FAL | KIL | CLY | DUM |
| 1 | Dunfermline Athletic | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 | 12 | Qualification for the Second round | — | 2–0 | — | 3–2 | — |
| 2 | Falkirk | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 9 | Qualification for the Second round | — | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | — |
| 3 | Kilmarnock | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | −2 | 6 | | 0–3 | — | — | — | 2–0 |
| 4 | Clyde | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 9 | −3 | 3 | | — | — | 0–2 | — | 3–2 |
| 5 | Dumbarton | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | −8 | 0 | | 0–1 | 0–4 | — | — | — |

## Squad statistics

| No. | Pos. | Name | Premiership | Premiership | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup | League Cup | League Cup | Total | Total | Discipline | Discipline |
| No. | Pos. | Name | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | | |
| 1 | GK | Jake Eastwood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Aaron McGowan | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Brandon Haunstrup | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 4 | 1 |
| 4 | DF | Clevid Dikamona | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | DF | Kirk Broadfoot | 31 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Alan Power | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 36 | 1 | 17 | 0 |
| 7 | MF | Rory McKenzie | 29 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | Gary Dicker | 26 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 29 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Eamonn Brophy | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | FW | George Oakley | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | Greg Kiltie | 29 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | Nicke Kabamba | 33 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| 12 | FW | Danny Whitehall | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | Zeno Ibsen Rossi | 14 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | Brandon Pierrick | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | GK | Colin Doyle | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | DF | Stuart Findlay | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | DF | Calum Waters | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | Mitchell Pinnock | 30 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 35 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | FW | Innes Cameron | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | MF | Youssouf Mulumbu | 16 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 22 | DF | Ross Millen | 19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 | GK | Danny Rogers | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 24 | DF | Zech Medley | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | FW | Kyle Connell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | Diaguely Dabo | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 27 | MF | Aaron Tshibola | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| 28 | FW | Kyle Lafferty | 9 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | Chris Burke | 36 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 9 | 3 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | Tomas Brindley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | Ally Taylor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | GK | Curtis Lyle | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 36 | DF | Euan Deveney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | DF | Craig Ross | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | Keir Russell | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 39 | FW | Josh Rennie | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 42 | MF | Steven Warnock | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 43 | DF | Kenny Sloan | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 44 | MF | Fergus Dee | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 45 | FW | Michael Mullen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 47 | MF | Ross Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Source:

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | Previous Club | Fee |
| 15 June 2020 | DF | Aaron McGowan | Hamilton Academical | Free |
| 8 July 2020 | MF | Mitchell Pinnock | AFC Wimbledon | Free |
| 15 July 2020 | DF | Zeno Ibsen Rossi | Bournemouth | Loan |
| 21 July 2020 | FW | Danny Whitehall | Maidenhead United | Free |
| 22 July 2020 | DF | Brandon Haunstrup | Portsmouth | Free |
| 28 July 2020 | GK | Danny Rogers | Aberdeen | Free |
| 30 July 2020 | GK | Jake Eastwood | Sheffield United | Loan |
| 31 July 2020 | MF | Aaron Tshibola | Aves | Free |
| 6 August 2020 | MF | Clevid Dikamona | Heart of Midlothian | Free |
| 11 August 2020 | DF | Colin Doyle | Heart of Midlothian | Loan |
| 28 August 2020 | MF | Youssouf Mulumbu | Free Agent | Free |
| 31 December 2020 | MF | Diaguely Dabo | Free Agent | Free |
| 26 January 2021 | FW | George Oakley | Pirin Blagoevgrad | Free |
| 1 February 2021 | MF | Brandon Pierrick | Crystal Palace | Loan |
| 1 February 2021 | DF | Zech Medley | Arsenal | Loan |
| 12 February 2021 | FW | Kyle Lafferty | Reggina | Free |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | Subsequent Club | Fee |
| 19 May 2020 | MF | Adam Frizzell | Dumbarton | Free |
| 19 May 2020 | GK | Devlin MacKay | Free Agent | Free |
| 19 May 2020 | MF | Harry Bunn | York City | Free |
| 25 June 2020 | GK | Jamie Walker | Stranraer | Free |
| 10 July 2020 | MF | Dom Thomas | Dunfermline Athletic | Undisclosed |
| 16 July 2020 | GK | Jamie MacDonald | Raith Rovers | Free |
| 16 July 2020 | MF | Iain Wilson | Dunfermline Athletic | Free |
| 1 August 2020 | DF | Stephen Hendrie | Morecambe | Free |
| 6 August 2020 | GK | Jan Koprivec | Tabor Sežana | Free |
| 13 August 2020 | DF | Stephen O'Donnell | Motherwell | Free |
| 31 August 2020 | MF | Mohamed El Makrini | IK Start | Undisclosed |
| 6 October 2020 | FW | Kyle Connell | Airdrieonians | Loan |
| 23 October 2020 | FW | Innes Cameron | Ayr United | Loan |
| 23 October 2020 | DF | Euan Deveney | Falkirk | Loan |
| 8 January 2021 | FW | Eamonn Brophy | St Mirren | Loan |
| 23 January 2021 | FW | Innes Cameron | Alloa Athletic | Loan |
| 25 February 2021 | DF | Stuart Findlay | Philadelphia Union | Undisclosed |
| 11 March 2021 | MF | Tomas Brindley | Dumbarton | Loan |
| 11 March 2021 | MF | Ally Taylor | Stranraer | Loan |