Scottish Premiership club reveal exit of FIFTEEN players as club captain and league title winner among released stars
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
IT'S a summer of change ahead at Kilmarnock following Stuart Kettlewell's arrival as manager.
And it looks like the new Rugby Park boss is going to have a VERY different group of players working with him next season.
3
Stuart Kettlewell has taken over as Kilmarnock manager
Credit: KILMARNOCK FC
3
Captain Kyle Vassell is leaving the club
Credit: Callan Media- Commissioned by The Sun Glasgow
3
Gary Mackay-Steven is also out of contract
Credit: Kenny Ramsay
Derek McInnes quit Kilmarnock at the end of the season to become the new Hearts manager.
The 53-year old's departure brought to an end a successful three-and-a-half year stint in charge that saw Killie enjoy the highs of promotion and a venture into European football.
But now, it's Stuart Kettlewell who's tasked with taking things forward at the club.
The former Motherwell boss was confirmed the new Killie gaffer last week on a two-year contract.
But it certainly won't only be big changes in the dugout, with the club revealing plenty of change on the park as well.
Kilmarnock have released their squad update following the conclusion of the 2024/25 season and it reveals that FIFTEEN players are leaving the club.
Among them are a whole host of big names and first team regulars.
Club captain Kyle Vassell is departing after two-and-a-half years with Killie.
Regular starters Danny Armstrong, Liam Donnelly and Joe Wright are also moving on.
Bobby Wales departs having already agreed a move to Swansea, while there are also exits for goalkeeper Kieran O'Hara, Innes Cameron, Kyle Magennis and Fraser Murray.
Derek McInnes spotted leaving Rugby Park for last time as Kilmarnock fans thank ex-manager
Former Scotland international Gary Mackay-Steven is also a free agent.
The winger, 34, won three league titles during his time with Celtic between 2017 and 2019.
In addition to those 12 names above, three players are leaving Kilmarnock after their loan deals expired.
Scotland caps Calvin Ramsay and Stuart Findlay have gone back to Liverpool and Oxford respectively, while Tom Wilson-Brown's temporary spell from Leicester is over.
The club say they are in conversations with a number of players and with the transfer window opening, fans should expect updates to follow in due course.
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Press and Journal
42 minutes ago
- Press and Journal
Former Aberdeen midfielder urges Dons to back Jimmy Thelin's European push
Former Aberdeen midfielder Derek Young insists Scottish Cup winning manager Jimmy Thelin will need more backing if the Dons are to be competitive in Europe next season. Cup glory at Hampden last month means Aberdeen will have guaranteed group stage football in either the Europa League or Conference League in the next campaign. It will be the second European campaign in three seasons for the Dons, who struggled with juggling domestic and European commitments under former manager Barry Robson in 2023. Young knows strength in depth will be vital for Thelin. He said: 'We're all looking forward to Europe again but the manager is going to need some money to build his squad. 'There's enough young boys in there, I'll say that. 'The three lads who played at Cove Rangers this season, Adam Emslie, Findlay Marshall and Dylan Lobban, are all ready to make that push. 'They were fantastic for Cove so hopefully one or two of them will get a sniff this year. 'But we need some players in because it's going to be a huge challenge for the squad.' Young was part of the Dons' UEFA Cup squad which reached the last 32 of the competition in the 2007-08 campaign under Jimmy Calderwood. The memories of trips to Dnipro, Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich remain treasured today and he is thrilled the current squad will get the chance to create memories of their own under Thelin. He said: 'I've been there, done it and got the T-shirt. I know how much it adds to the squad and the club, and how amazing it feels to go and do that. 'What a good experience Europe is and that's why I'm pleased for a lot of the guys who are in the dressing room, and of course for the fans.' Young believes the joyous scenes at Hampden following the Scottish Cup win provided the perfect fairytale ending to one of the most erratic and unpredictable campaigns in the club's history. He said: 'I actually forgot at the time what winning the cup actually meant. 'The league didn't go our way so to win the cup and qualify for the group stages of Europe was amazing. What a perfect end to the season. 'The first half of the season, we were all doing great, but we fell off a bit during the second half of the season. 'So, to do what they've done at the end of it is incredible, and Europe is the icing on the cake to it all. 'Getting right into the European group stage, it's amazing. It's been an unbelievable couple of weeks. 'There's one play-off round and then we'll see what happens but to have European football right up until Christmas is fantastic.' Young, who works as a coach with the AFC Academy and the SFA's Performance School, had the privilege of watching the Dons beat Celtic in the penalty shootout at Hampden from the commentary position with the club's RedTV channel. He believes the players and coaching staff should be proud of what they have achieved after devising and executing a cup-winning strategy to stun the Hoops in a matter of days. Young said: 'Honestly, the amount of folk that jumped on me and were giving me congratulations, I feel as if I played. What a day. 'It was great soaking it up, watching the staff on the pitch who I've known, running about going daft. They didn't know what to do. 'It feels so special I think because so many people had doubts. 'Nobody was expecting it. But when I was doing the game on Red TV I said: 'anything can happen in football.' 'Thankfully, defensively we were absolutely solid. The manager changed it. He changed players and went with some guys he maybe didn't think would start. 'He was so bold, and his team came out the right side of it at the end with the cup. 'A lot of credit to the manager and his staff for doing that, and of course a massive pat on the back to the players because they've only had a week there to change things. 'They listened to everything, executed the plan brilliantly and walked away with the Scottish Cup at the end of it.'
North Wales Chronicle
an hour ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Steve Clarke proud of Scotland squad's commitment ahead of June's friendlies
The head coach named a 25-man squad on May 19, and there have been no withdrawals in the intervening period, with everyone available for Friday's clash with Iceland at Hampden. That number includes senior players like Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay, John McGinn and Billy Gilmour, who have been operating at the sharp end of European football throughout the campaign. Back for MD-1 🚍 🎟️ — Scotland National Team (@ScotlandNT) June 5, 2025 'The biggest thing for me is that everybody's turned up,' said Clarke as he faced the media on Thursday. 'I think that's great. We've come to the end of a long, hard season, a lot of them could have had little excuses or little niggles. 'There's one or two in the camp now that are still getting rid of little niggles from the end of the season, but they're all here and they all want to play, and that's great for me. 'Since I came here, this group of players have always said that they are so committed to coming and performing for their country. Every time I pick a squad, they all want to be here. 'One or two of them have called me up in this camp that haven't been selected, asking me to select them! But if they're not quite fit, then obviously I can't do that.' Captain Robertson explained how he has made an effort to build a culture in the squad where everyone makes the effort to turn up for national duty regardless of circumstances. 'I said that when I was younger, when I first went to Liverpool and I got the Scotland captaincy and things like that, it was crucial that the lads that were the core group in the squad were consistent in showing up,' said the Liverpool left-back. 'I believe that then shows the new lads coming in, that that's the way and you always show up for your country if you can. Now, there's a few knocks and bruises of course, everyone has them by the time we get to this point in the season, but representing the country is one of the biggest honours and it always will be. 'I think we've all shown that at a good level in terms of sometimes we've came injured, sometimes we've came not perfect but we've all shown up. I think everyone's got on board with that. 'Hopefully that carries on for years to come because if we've got the strongest squad here, then it gives us the best chance of success.' Ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaign, Clarke – who has seven uncapped players in his squad – is taking the Iceland match seriously as he aims to improve on a 'not very good' record of one win nine friendlies. 'You know me well by now, I don't really experiment too much,' he said. 'I think the process with any team, especially a national team, is there has to be a cycle, there has to be a turnover of players eventually. 'People make a lot of the seven uncapped players in the squad. But you're bringing these young players in to feel the level of the group, to understand where they need to get to, to be selected regularly for the national team. 'It's important not to discard the ones that have been relatively successful over certainly my six years in charge and make sure that there's always a little production line of players coming through that we can rely on in the future.'
The Herald Scotland
an hour ago
- The Herald Scotland
Steve Clarke proud of Scotland squad's commitment ahead of June's friendlies
That number includes senior players like Andy Robertson, Scott McTominay, John McGinn and Billy Gilmour, who have been operating at the sharp end of European football throughout the campaign. 'The biggest thing for me is that everybody's turned up,' said Clarke as he faced the media on Thursday. 'I think that's great. We've come to the end of a long, hard season, a lot of them could have had little excuses or little niggles. 'There's one or two in the camp now that are still getting rid of little niggles from the end of the season, but they're all here and they all want to play, and that's great for me. 'Since I came here, this group of players have always said that they are so committed to coming and performing for their country. Every time I pick a squad, they all want to be here. 'One or two of them have called me up in this camp that haven't been selected, asking me to select them! But if they're not quite fit, then obviously I can't do that.'
