The Rugby Road Gates are open! Hello and welcome to an exclusive weekly take on Kilmarnock FC by Ewan Paton.

Brucie Bonus: A look at new signing Bruce Anderson

So, there we have it. As if by design, in perfect timing for the release of this newsletter, Kilmarnock have announced their first signing of the summer – Bruce Anderson. The striker has signed a two-year deal with Ayrshire’s Premier team and will officially join upon the expiry of his contract at Livingston next month.

Of course, the 25-year-old worked with the gaffer at Aberdeen. The frontman came through the youth academy at his boyhood club and went on to make 39 first-team appearances at Pittodrie before joining Hamilton on loan, then Livi permanently. He scored on his debut for Aberdeen in dramatic fashion. Rewinding the clock back to August 2018, after swivelling on the edge of the box, Anderson stuck one into the bottom corner beyond Allan McGregor to earn Derek McInnes’ side a 1-1 draw in Steven Gerrard’s first game in Scottish football.

He went on to add another two to his account in the north east before eventually making the Tony Macaroni Arena his new home in 2021. It was here that the diminutive forward properly developed into a proven, well-regarded Premiership striker. Over the course of his three full seasons working under Davie Martindale, he found the net 30 times – including twice against Killie – and managed eight assists. His first campaign was his most prolific, with 11 goals, while the 22/23 and 23/24 seasons saw a return of six and seven goals respectively.

“There was a lot of clubs interested in taking Bruce, a number nine out of contract of Bruce’s age and experience there’s always that interest,” McInnes said when giving us an insight into what we can expect from Anderson. “We feel like he can complement what we have at the club already, he’s a free agent and he’s a boy I know well, he plays off the shoulder and is a natural finisher. If he comes here, works as hard as we expect him to then he can have a really rewarding time here. Last season we had so many crosses, so many penalty box entries, good situations, someone like Bruce can hopefully give us more attacking threat.”

It seems there were plenty of interested parties in taking Anderson on board then. Obviously, the proof will be in the pudding, but on the face of things, it seems like another big win for Killie that yet another player has chosen us over our top-flight rivals such as Dundee and St Mirren. As fans, we all thought the same thing about Kevin van Veen at the end of the January transfer window though and we saw how that move panned out, so let’s just balance things out by being mindful of that.

However, while we always like to look on the brighter side of things, yet again McInnes seems to have been the difference maker in convincing a player to join. It’s understood that Anderson’s initial preference was to test himself down south, so his old boss must have changed his mind.

As things stand, Anderson joins Kyle Vassell, Innes Cameron and Bobby Wales as the forward options at the club. Contract talks with Marley Watkins and Greg Stewart remain ongoing. Should they both agree to stay, then coupled with Anderson’s acquisition, McInnes has good competition for places up top with experienced players, all of whom offer something different.

With the off-season barely even a week old, that’s signing number one over the line. If speculation is to be believed, then Cameron Harper of deeply troubled Inverness Caley Thistle could be next.

ANOTHER THING

How good was it to look at the outcome of the Premier Sports Cup group stage draw and not see Killie? One of the biggest perks of qualifying for Europe is not having to deal with kid-on competitive games in July that are nothing more than glorified pre-season friendlies. Not only does the club avoid potential trips to the likes of Arbroath and Dumbarton, but our fourth-placed finish means a seeded position in the last-16. That should, in theory, give us a favourable draw, and it should be yet another cup quarter-final. Let’s just hope we can make it back to Hampden in the new season!

AND FINALLY

I’m pleased both Gary Mackay-Steven and Innes Cameron have signed new contracts for next season. They’ve both agreed to a further year at Rugby Park. Plenty will have an opinion on the merit of having either on the books next season, but in my view, it’s smart business.