Stuart Kettlewell has been sacked as Kilmarnock manager after just seven months in charge. In May, Kettlewell signed a two-year deal with the club, but a run of 10 games without a win prompted the board to take action, relieving Kettlewell and his assistant, Stephen Frail, of their duties.
In a statement released on the Kilmarnock FC website, the board thanked Kettlewell for his time in charge, but frustratingly added that the club “had plenty of quality in the squad and had hoped that results would turn around”.
The question now is, who is next? As the next Kilmarnock manager odds go live, we’re taking a look to see where the early value lies and, more importantly, who’s best suited to take charge at Rugby Park.
Latest Odds for the Next Kilmarnock Manager
The best bookies aren’t live yet for the next Kilmarnock manager odds, but we’ve come up with a plausible list of candidates and created a hypothetical list of what the odds should be. As soon as official odds are released, we will update this table.
| Candidate | Odds |
|---|---|
| Kris Doolan | 3/1 |
| Steven Naismith | 4/1 |
| David Martindale | 5/1 |
| Peter Leven | 8/1 |
| Alan Archibald | 10/1 |
| John Carver | 12/1 |
| Chris Burke | 14/1 |
| Des Buckingham | 20/1 |
| Kevin Thomson | 25/1 |
| Rhys McCabe | 25/1 |
Kris Doolan – 3/1
Kris Doolan’s a really interesting option here. He was earmarked to be the club's head of development and to take charge of the under-19s, but he’s been thrust into the limelight to take interim charge until a permanent manager can be found.
The reason we like Doolan is the run of fixtures he’s potentially going to oversee:
• Falkirk (H) – December 20 – Scottish Premiership
• St Mirren (A) – December 27 – Scottish Premiership
• Dundee (A) – December 30 – Scottish Premiership
• Hibernian (H) – January 3 – Scottish Premiership
• Livingston (A) – January 10 – Scottish Premiership
Killie have undoubtedly been in terrible form, but barring Hibs, these are all teams who are in the thick of a relegation scrap. Winnable games, if you like. If he can go on a run and get Kilmarnock into a stronger position in the league, it could mean the club trusts him long term.
If we also consider the financial side, bumping internal employees’ wages slightly is much cheaper than the signing-on fees and/or compensation packages that come with most alternative candidates. He needs to hit the ground running, but he’s got every chance given the fixtures.
Steven Naismith – 4/1
There were talks of Naismith potentially taking charge at Rugby Park back in the summer. Those rumours will have weight this time around as well.
He’s currently plying his trade with Steve Clarke on the coaching staff of the Scottish national side, so he’s working daily with the elite. His time at Hearts – Naismith’s first full-time managerial role – didn’t go well, despite a squad that’s arguably stronger than this current Kilmarnock set-up.
But he’ll have benefited massively from his time with Scotland. The board might have seen enough to take a risk on a young manager here, and, of course, the club have strong ties with Naismith, having given him his first professional contract in 2003.
David Martindale – 5/1
Current Livingston manager David Martindale would be a real curveball at Kilmarnock. He’s been ever-present at Almondvale Stadium since he was appointed to the full-time role in 2020.
He’s worked on a shoestring budget in that time, and even though they were relegated in 2023-24, they jumped straight back up in 2024-25, as well as winning the Scottish Challenge Cup for the club's first trophy in eight years.
Within the professional circuit, Martindale’s stock is high. It might not be the one the fans are calling for, but this would be a shrewd move from the board.
Not only would they be taking a huge asset from a fellow relegation struggler, but they can really build something with Martindale’s keen eye for recruitment and player development.
