McCann’s appointment in January last season raised eyebrows, with Kilmarnock languishing near the bottom of the table when he took charge at Rugby Park.
Yet, alongside assistant Billy Dodds and buoyed by Rangers loanee Findlay Curtis’ sparkling form, he led Killie to safety in style, closing the campaign with four straight league wins and 13 goals scored.
The slump since then has been rapid. Shipping four to St Johnstone, five to Celtic and another four to Dundee United has cranked up the pressure from the stands.
An expansive approach is leaving them alarmingly exposed.
Former Rangers, Hearts and Motherwell midfielder Andy Halliday believes their structure is a problem.
Speaking to BBC Sportsound, he said there was real optimism around Killie after McCann’s arrival lifted them to fourth in the form table for the run-in last season.
He feels they don’t look at ease in their setup, particularly with a diamond, where the wide players must cover huge distances—providing width in possession, then tucking in without the ball.
Halliday’s chief concern is how the full-backs are used: they push high when attacking but are often left isolated one-on-one when defending.
Without someone like Findlay Curtis ahead of them—high energy and willing to track back—they lack protection. Defensive struggles are being magnified by a shape that leaves them too open.
It’s not as if Kilmarnock failed to create against United; they just didn’t finish. Remarkably, even after conceding four, Max Stryjek could still claim a respectable performance.
Handing debuts to centre-half Cathal McCarthy and Jonathan Meier meant half the back line were experiencing the Premiership for the first time—perhaps a bridge too far, too quickly?
McCarthy conceded a penalty, Meier was withdrawn at the interval, and an early injury to reliable centre-back Robbie Deas only deepened the woes.
It was one of those days when everything that could go wrong did. With St Mirren visiting on Wednesday, it already feels like a must-not-lose—if not a must-win—occasion to spark their season into life.