UEFA Cup-bound Kilmarnock continued their preparation for next season by completing the #500,000 signing of Morton's highly-rated midfielder, Alan Mahood.
They are also looking to capitalise on the imminent Ibrox exodus, with manager Bobby Williamson admitting yesterday that he would like to sign outgoing Rangers midfielder Ian Durrant once his contract expires next month. Killie, who received confirmation yesterday of their UEFA Cup position, had began their strengthening by signing Stenhousemuir's young defender Chris McInnes last week.
Now, in signing 25-year-old Mahood on a three-year contract, Kilmarnock have found a replacement for central midfielder Mark Reilly, who left the club at the end of the season to join Tommy Burns' Reading revolution. An elated Mahood said: ''I have been a Killie fan all my life and I have been sold on the club's vision and plans for the future. My family are delighted that I have come home and I'm really looking forward to contributing to the Killie success story.''
His new manager also welcomed the latest addition to the squad, saying: ''Alan Mahood's experience and skill will give us an extra dimension as we head into Europe.'' The midfielder could face some stiff competition for a place next season, however, if Killie are successful in a bid for Durrant.
The 31-year-old seemed almost certain to join team-mate Richard Gough in the USA after Gough's new club, San Jose Clash, made him an offer to move Stateside. However, the lure of European football, a stage on which Durrant's craft is best employed, could force the player into a major career re-think as he looks to secure what is likely to be his final playing contract.
A coy Williamson admitted his interest in his former team-mate, saying that he would almost definitely be pursuing the player when he becomes available. However, he stressed that no approach will be made until that time.
''He is a player I have admired for a long time,'' conceded the Killie manager. ''I'm always trying to bring quality players to Rugby Park when they become available, but Durrant is still under contract, so I can't really talk about it - I don't want to break the lines of communication.
''I feel we are a big club and playing in Europe will be a big stage.''
Meanwhile, former Kilmarnock goalkeeper Bobby Geddes is in line to make his European debut at the age of 38 having re-signed for Irish side Linfield.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article