Kilmarnock's 13-Goal Nightmare: Three Matches, Zero Points, and a Manager Apologising to the Fans
Kilmarnock have conceded 13 goals in three matches to start the 2026-27 Scottish Premiership season — four against St Johnstone, five against Celtic, and four more against Dundee United. Zero points. Zero clean sheets. A club that beat Hearts 1-0 at home as recently as March now looks unrecognisable at the back.
The latest damage came at home to Dundee United, who walked away 4-0 winners. Goalkeeper Max Stryjek was beaten four times, and the defensive reshuffle barely lasted half an hour before it unravelled. Centre-half Robbie Deas suffered an early injury, forcing further disruption to a back line already leaking goals. Two debutants were thrown in: Cathal McCarthy, who gave away a penalty, and Jonathan Meier, who was substituted at half-time. Not the introductions either player would have scripted.
Manager Neil McCann was blunt. "I'm angry. I'm apologetic to the fans," he said after the Dundee United defeat. He told reporters that his side had started the match well enough before conceding what he called a really poor goal from a set piece — the kind of moment, in other words, that turns a tense afternoon into a long one.
Former Rangers, Hearts and Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday, speaking to BBC Sport, pointed to the shape of the team rather than individual errors. He said Kilmarnock's defensive structure looked suspect and exposed, with nobody doing the job Findlay Curtis had previously done: doubling up in front of the full-backs to give them protection. When the wide defenders are left one-on-one, the whole system buckles.
The timing is awkward. Kilmarnock have been active in the transfer market, bringing back academy graduate Mark O'Hara in June, subject to SFA approval (the Scottish Football Association, the game's governing body in Scotland). They have also moved players out: Jack Thomson joined Swindon Town on 28 August, and Ethan Schilte Brown went on loan to Glentoran three days earlier. With the squad still settling, McCann is trying to fix a defence that has shipped nearly a goal every twenty minutes of football played so far.
What makes this stand out is how quickly the ground has shifted. In March, Kilmarnock beat Derek McInnes's Hearts at home. In April, McCann was naming teams for trips to Easter Road to face Hibernian. The second half of last season carried its own struggles, but nothing like this. Thirteen goals in three matches is not a slow start — it is a siren.
The next chance to stop the bleeding comes on Wednesday, when St Mirren visit Rugby Park. McCann needs a performance and a result, in that order. The fans who heard him apologise will expect more than words.
