Kilmarnock

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Midfielder Liam Polworth has agreed a new two-year contract with Kilmarnock.

The 29-year-old's previous deal ended on 31 May, but he will now extend his three-year stay with the Scottish Premiership club.

Polworth began his career with local club Inverness Caledonian Thistle before moving to Motherwell then Kilmarnock.

He had a loan spell with Dunfermline Athletic in 2022 but was a first-team regular last season, making 35 appearances for Derek McInnes' side.

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Stuart Findlay will return for a fifth spell with Kilmarnock "pending approval on an extension of our existing loan agreement with Oxford United".

The 28-year-old made 46 appearances last season for the side that finished fourth in the Scottish Premiership.

Findlay had joined League One club Oxford in 2022 from Philadelphia Union.

New Liverpool manager Arne Slot will give Owen Beck, who spent last season on loan to Dundee, and Luke Chambers, who was with Wigan Athletic after a spell at Kilmarnock, a chance in pre-season to stake a claim to become Andy Robertson's understudy at left-back. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Following Real Madrid's Champions League triumph at Wembley on Saturday, Kilmarnock now know their potential Europa League opponents.

Derek McInnes' side will enter qualifying at the second-round stage and could be paired with some tasty sides.

Dutch giants Ajax immediately stand out, as do Portuguese side Braga and Rapid Wien of Austria.

Norway's Molde, Turkish club Trabzonspor, Cercle Brugge of Belgium and Croatian club HNK Rijeka are also potential opposition.

Sheriff Tiraspol or Maribor could be paired with the Ayrshire men as well, but both would have to navigate past their first-round qualifiers.

The draw will take place on 19 June, with the ties being played on 25 July and 1 August.

If Kilmarnock fail to get through what will almost certainly be a tough tie, they have the safety net of dropping into third-round qualifying for the Conference League.

We asked you to name Kilmarnock's best cult hero signings - the player that showed up with little expectation (and perhaps ability) but won over the support.

Here's some of your many shouts:

John: Best cult signing ever is Alexei Eremenko. Unbelievably good.

James: Eremenko. Enigmatic magician.

CS: Manuel Pascali. I'm too young to remember greats like Ray Montgomerie or Tommy Burns. I have never and probably will never witness a player play with so much passion and pride for the badge on his shirt. Chris Burke is probably the only one since who comes close to his cult status for me. There's something special about that #29 jersey.

David: Eric Skora - what a graceful footballer - and you don’t hear that too often. Eremenko was cult hero and what a footballer. He made players around him far better than they were.

Anon: Skora. What a player. Small cameo before an awful injury in England.

Grant: My two favourite cult heroes from all my years following Killie are, firstly, French blonde bombshell and legendary centre back Freddie Dindeluex. And, of course, the Italian stallion himself, Captain fantastic Manuel Pascali. Both would run through brick walls for the team and were leaders that the full fanbase fell in love with!

Derek: Can only be Dieter Van Tornhout. Arrived with, let's say, a varied CV - none of us had ever heard of him. Two months later, in only his sixth appearance (of 13), he scored the winner in the 2012 League Cup final on his 27th birthday. Sadly, he had to leave that summer due to personal circumstance, but will be forever a legend in East Ayrshire.

Stuart: Cult figure for me was George McCluskey back in the day. Very much at the back end of his career when he joined us but a real character with bags of skill and guile. Great impact as we went for promotion to top flight.

Mick: Jerome Vareille. What a player. Endless energy bounding up and down the wing with Gus MacPherson in the 90s. Ah, nostalgia.

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David Watson's impressive season with Kilmarnock has seen the midfielder's transfer value rise, according to Transfermarkt.

The 19-year-old made 45 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring five goals and contributing three assists as Derek McInnes' side secured a fourth-placed finish in the Premiership and qualified for European football.

Watson was named young player of the year by the Scottish Football Writers’ Association, and also won the PFA Scotland young player of the year award.

He is now valued at €1m by the transfers and market values website, a rise of €600k.

Players come and go, but sometimes a new face will arrive and win the hearts of supporters unexpectedly.

Who's the lesser-remembered player that showed up at Kilmarnock with little expectation and perhaps had more passion than talent, but turned into a hero loved across the fanbase?

Give us your shout. , external

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Chief executive Neil Doncaster says crowd figures are "hugely promising" after the SPFL broke its attendance record for the second year running.

Over 5.15m supporters took to the stands to watch their side across all SPFL competitions in 2023-24, covering the Premiership, Championship, League 1, League 2, League Cup and the SPFL Trust Trophy.

The year-on-year figure marks an increase of 64,122 on the season prior's record high, when the number of people attending SPFL matches surpassed 5m for the first time.

A total of of 4,746,052 fans attended games across the four divisions, with Premiership matches attracting 3,760,765.

Scotland continues to have the best attendances figures per capita across its top four divisions in Europe with 21.3 per 1000 people - 65% ahead of second-placed the Netherlands.

Doncaster said: “After topping five million fans across an SPFL season for the first time in season 2022/23, it is hugely promising to see attendances growing even further this season.

“Our supporters are renowned across the world for their dedication and passion and regularly record the highest per capita attendance in Europe."

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Bruce Anderson says the chance to play European football had him "chomping at the bit to sign" for Kilmarnock despite offers from elsewhere.

The 25-year-old striker, who will join on a two-year deal when his Livingston contract expires, said: "My first competitive game will be in the Europa League, that’s massive.

"These are the types of games you want to play in as a player, to test yourself at the highest level.

"I had options, what made Kilmarnock feel like the right choice though was watching them last season, the way they play really suits me."

Manager Derek McInnes believes "natural finisher" Anderson can give Killie more cutting edge.

"Last season we had so many crosses, so many penalty box entries, good situations, someone like Bruce can hopefully give us more attacking threat," McInnes said.

"We leaned heavily on Marley [Watkins] and Kyle [Vassell] last season, so us having as many strong options up top will be really important to us.

"Scoring goals is natural and instinctive for Bruce, he knows the league and he knows how we work as coaches, he has given himself the best possible chance of succeeding."

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Experienced forward Gary Mackay-Steven has signed a one-year deal to stay with Kilmarnock.

The former Scotland international, 33, arrived at Rugby Park from Hearts last December and made 10 appearances, scoring one goal, in the second half of Killie's memorable campaign as they finished fourth in the Premiership.

Mackay-Steven now has European football to look forward to, with the draw for the Europa League second qualifying round taking place on 19 June.

And he is the second Killie player in as many days to sign a new contract after Innes Cameron also extended his stay until summer 2025.

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Innes Cameron has signed a new one-year deal with Kilmarnock, extending the striker's long association with the club.

The 23-year-old made his Killie debut aged 16 and has gone on to score seven goals in 58 appearances for the first team.

Cameron's contract was due to expire this summer, but he will now be part of Derek McInnes' squad next season.

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Derek McInnes says his Kilmarnock side's stellar campaign has earned acknowledgement and respect from outside the club.

The Rugby Park side will jet off for European football in July after a fourth-placed finish earned a spot in the Europa League second qualifying round.

After fending off relegation the year prior, McInnes reflected on a dream season with pride.

"We can all look back with a real satisfaction that we've served up a far better effort than we did last season," he told club media, external.

"It's our job to provide real highlights for the fans, I think a lot of games will live long in the memory.

"I think we've made Kilmarnock relevant again. There's been a real acknowledgement from everybody - even outwith Kilmarnock - that we've had a really strong campaign.

"From a manager's point of view, it's everything I've wanted the season to be. The team is everything I want my team to be."

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The last time Kilmarnock played in European football, they were embarrassed by Welsh part-timers Connah's Quay Nomads.

Five years on, they are back on the continental stage and could be on course for a meeting with a true heavyweight.

Ajax are one of the sides that could come out of the hat for the Rugby Park outfit's Europa League second qualifying round tie - a prospect that hasn't escaped manager Derek McInnes.

"I hope there's somebody sitting in a room at Ajax asking the manager about potentially getting Kilmarnock as one of the options," he told club media, external.

"I don't think that'll be the case, but just talking about it is great.

"When you're supporting a team like Kilmarnock, there's ups and downs. That's part of being a supporter.

"It's important we try and enjoy the excitement of the draw. Hopefully it's not to some far-flung place and it's someone we can gay enjoy having a wrestle with.

"I would have hated seeing another team in Scotland be in our position. I'm totally thrilled we're in the mix for it."

Should Killie lose their opening game, they will drop down to the Europa Conference League, meaning a minimum of four games on the continent next term.

"Of course we want to go as far as we can," McInnes added

"We're realistic, we know the first game we're going to be against a team of real pedigree. It's actually what you want.

"For too long, European football and Kilmarnock has been synonymous with Connah's Quay. We need to try and change that.

Joe Wright is allowing himself to dream again after Kilmarnock's "brilliant" European qualification. (The Herald, external)

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip here.

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He's blue. He's white.

Kilmarnock fans know the rest, and sang it loudly and proudly on this day 27 years ago.

Paul Wright calls his Scottish Cup-winning goal against Falkirk at Ibrox on 24 May 1997 the "best miskick of his career".

That scuff gave Killie their first taste of glory in the famous old competition since 1929, as Bobby Williamson's side ended the club's long wait to get their hands on trophy.

Falkirk boss Alex Trotten knew his triumphant opposition well, having built the vast majority of the team before being given his marching orders in December 1996.

His assistant Williamson took over, confirming his status as a club legend by lifting the Scottish Cup, a feat that has since been unmatched at Ruby Park.

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Kilmarnock are "in discussion" with Liam Polworth, Marley Watkins, Gary Mackay-Steven, Greg Stewart, Innes Cameron and Kieran O’Hara about new deals with the club.

All six players are out of contract this summer, but could yet stay at Rugby Park.

Meanwhile, Jack Sanders, Kerr McInroy, Aaron Quigg and Steven Warnock will not have their contracts extended and have all left as free agents.

Loanees Will Dennis, Corrie Ndaba, Stuart Findlay, Tom Davies, James Balagizi and Kevin Van Veen have all returned to their parent clubs.

Manager Derek McInnes said: “It’s that time of the year where you’re trying to free up some space in the squad, on reflection there’s lads that have left that have been here a long time.

“We wish them well in the future and thank them for everything they’ve done at this club."

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Kilmarnock star Danny Armstrong should be on the way to Germany in Scotland's Euros squad, according to three BBC Scotland pundits.

Leanne Crichton, Peter Grant and Steven Thompson all selected the winger in their preferred squad, while Armstrong was omitted by Michael Stewart, Neil McCann and Tom English.

Armstrong will discover his fate on Wednesday morning when Steve Clarke's 28-man Scotland party is announced, with two unlucky players set to drop out before the tournament.

The 26-year-old has never been capped above under-16 level for Scotland, but assisted 10 goals for Kilmarnock this season as they finished fourth in the Premiership and secured European football.

His 16 goal contributions (six goals, 10 assists), follows a tally of 17 from last season (nine goals, eight assists).

Read more: Who would BBC pundits have in their Scotland squad?

It was fitting that in a season where all our league meetings with Dundee ended in draws the final game was once again a stalemate.

The match was a chance for some fringe players to get a runout and even with a weaker team we still could've ended the season with a win.

We rattled the woodwork twice in the second half although we had to rely on a Luke McCowan penalty miss to salvage a point.

Once again Killie fans travelled in great numbers to pay tribute to the team and to flood Dens Park with inflatables.

It's been an outstanding season from management and players alike and McInnes rightly won the manager of the year award for the improvement in his team.

A year ago we were mopping our brows as we narrowly avoided relegation. Fast forward 12 months and the fans are dreaming of European trips to the likes of Ajax and Porto - what an occasion that would be.

The draw for the Europa League is on 19 June and with Scotland playing that night it could be a day to remember.

The management and players have rightly earned huge plaudits but I'd like to highlight how good the Killie fans have been.

The travelling fans especially have been fantastic all season and, with the young '1869' section bringing some youthful energy, it has been a pleasure attending Killie games.

It's nice to think that the next time I see them all again could be in the middle of Amsterdam.

Sandy Armour is editor of the Killie Hippo fanzine.