Why Kevin van Veen's spell at Killie didn't work out

The Dutchman, 33, will likely turn out against the Rugby Park outfit this Saturday having joined St Mirren on a season-long loan.

St Mirren have made a fine addition to their squad with Kevin van Veen – and it was not the player’s fault that things didn’t work out at Kilmarnock.

Paul Sheerin, alongside the rest of Killie’s coaching staff, is preparing the players for the weekend’s trip to Paisley in what will be the first Saturday fixture of the season for the club.

Derek McInnes and his team are looking for the first domestic win of the campaign against the Buddies after a well-documented difficult start balancing league duties with three quick-fire European qualifiers.

One of the players who inadvertently helped Killie to reach those European ties was Van Veen. The Dutchman, 33, signed on loan from FC Groningen in January this year, spending the second half of last season on loan in Ayrshire.

While he failed to score, nor make the desired impact in his 13 appearances for the club, the former Motherwell marksman’s presence helped strikers Kyle Vassell and Marley Watkins kick on to fend off the added competition.

Van Veen is now likely to come up against his former teammates either from the start or bench having joined St Mirren on a season-long-loan.

Asked if the failed loan spell was a case of the towering forward not fitting into the team’s style, Sheerin said: “No, I don't think it's that. I think Kev's a brilliant talent and I think he showed that on the training ground.

“What happened when Kev came in is Marley and Vassell stepped up. Whether they took the challenge of Kevin coming in or it just happened that they hit a brilliant bit of form, it was difficult for him to get on the team and show any consistency with that because of how good they two were.

“When a player of that quality comes into your club, other players sink or swim and fortunately for us, Marley and Vass, their response to him coming in was outstanding.

“So it became a bit more difficult for him in that sense. But we were fully aware of the quality he possesses, whether he starts or comes on as a sub against us, you know that there's a threat at the top end of the pitch, which they have anyway.

“They have that in abundance with Ayunga, Olusanya and big Mandron - you know how much of a threat they can be at the top end of the pitch. So Kev just adds that for St Mirren really, he's a good addition to their squad.”

After a much-needed two-week break, Kilmarnock are ready to return to action with their full focus on Scottish Premiership business.

Likewise, St Mirren also doesn’t have European football to contend with after a challenging few weeks to start the campaign.

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“I think when you're not used to it, and it's been a while since a club has been in Europe and there's a group of players there that, with the greatest of respect, haven't been exposed to much European football,” Sheerin said. “That's not just a game day, that's the travel and two games a week.

“We're not complaining about that because it was brilliant to be in amongst it, but it is a change in terms of the structure of their week and what they're used to working towards. From that point of view, it's disappointing we never went further in the European stuff.

“But in terms of the exposure and the experience, it's brilliant and it gives them a real taste for it. I know that amongst the club, the bulk of the players and definitely the staff are keen to be involved in that a bit more consistently than the club have been in recent years.”