Neil McCann, the man at the helm of Kilmarnock, insists that stagnation is tantamount to regression and that the club must keep moving forward. When he took over the Rugby Park side in January, they were languishing in 11th place, having dropped points in more than half of their fixtures and flirting with the relegation zone. A late‑season surge of victories helped them steer clear of the play‑off battles, and McCann now wants to turn that escape into a platform for genuine progress, aiming for a top‑six finish rather than merely surviving.
In a candid interview with Sky Sports News, McCann emphasized the importance of maintaining a positive mindset after the encouraging end to the previous campaign. "The feeling is that there's a lot of positivity around the club in terms of their thoughts for the season, in particular because of how well we finished," he said.
He added that the onus now lies on him, his assistant Billy Dodds, and the rest of the backroom staff to construct a squad capable of building on that optimism. "If you are standing still, you're effectively going backwards. So we need to definitely try and move ourselves forward," McCann warned.
"We don't want to be in a position we were in last January when I took over. We want to be really positive." Looking ahead, Kilmarnock's first league match of the new season will be away at McDiarmid Park against newly promoted St Johnstone, a game that McCann predicts will be more challenging than many might assume.
While some observers might view the encounter as a relatively easy opening fixture because St Johnstone are fresh from the Championship, McCann highlighted the tactical acumen of their manager, Simo Valakari. "Everybody maybe thinks it might be an easier start because it's St Johnstone and they have just come up from the Championship," he noted. "But I think Simo has a real solid way of playing." He also acknowledged that his own side is still finding its rhythm. "Like every manager, we're probably not quite at full tilt yet.
Not at the top gears and we'll continue to strive to get there," McCann admitted. Nonetheless, he believes the upbeat atmosphere generated by last year's late‑season heroics provides a solid foundation for the upcoming campaign.
"But I just think the positivity of last year is a good thing to build on," he said. Beyond tactics and morale, Kilmarnock are also benefiting from a significant change to their home playing surface. After a league‑wide decision to ban artificial pitches from the 2026/27 season, the club removed the synthetic turf that had been installed at Rugby Park and replaced it with natural grass for the first time since 2014.
The new pitch was laid directly over the former astroturf, resulting in a perfectly level surface. "The beauty about our pitch for this season is it's laid on top of what was the astroturf last year, so it's completely flat," McCann explained.
He described how, just weeks ago, the ground was essentially a sandpit, but the groundsmen have been working tirelessly to compact the soil and create a high‑quality playing field. "Four weeks ago, five weeks ago, that was just a sandpit. I'm told by the groundsmen that in the next week or so it's going to really thicken up and it'll be a surface that will rival any in the country," he said. McCann recalled the defensive solidity the team enjoyed on the previous artificial surface, where they won six of eight home games and turned Rugby Park into something of a fortress.
He believes the transition to grass will enhance the team's style of play even further. "I know we came in last year and it was really positive winning six out of the eight here at home, it became a bit of a fortress for us.
But I think it's going to help us with the grass pitch," he observed. He went on to advocate for grass pitches across the top tiers of Scottish football, arguing that a natural surface offers the best conditions for the modern game. "If I'm honest, I think every top league should have the grass pitches. This will be one of the finest in the country and hopefully that can benefit how we want to play," he concluded.
In summary, McCann's vision for Kilmarnock is clear: avoid complacency, continue the upward trajectory, and harness both the renewed optimism of the squad and the advantages of a high‑quality grass pitch to challenge for a higher league position. The upcoming season will test whether the club can translate last year's late‑season surge into consistent performance, but with a proactive manager, a supportive staff, and a revitalised home ground, Kilmarnock appear poised to aim higher than mere survival.