Former Celtic and Rangers stars handed contract lifeline as talks confirmed

Former Celtic and Rangers stars still have the chance to secure a new contract with Kilmarnock after a number of contract decisions made by the Premiership side. Killie enjoyed an impressive season, securing European football with a fourth-place finish under Derek McInnes.

But with European football comes the need to improve, and it’s for that reason Killie need to be ruthless with their retained list decisions ahead of next season. The club have now announced that Jack Sanders, Kerr McInroy, Aaron Quigg, Steven Warnock will all be released at the end of their respective contracts.

Meanwhile, discussions are still taking place with Liam Polworth, Marley Watkins, Gary Mackay-Steven, Greg Stewart, Innes Cameron and Kieran O’Hara over new contracts. As far as Celtic and Rangers are concerned, there are two former players on that list. Mackay-Steven played for the Hoops between 2015 and 2017, making 46 league appearances, winning three Premiership titles and a League Cup. The 33-year-old has been with Kilmarnock since 2023 but has only made seven league appearances so far.

As for the Rangers representation, Greg Stewart came through the Ibrox academy and later returned to make 21 league appearances between 2019 and 2021. The now 34-year-old has been with Killie since January, when he joined from Mumbai City, and he has since racked up eight league appearances.

Speaking about the retained list decisions, Kilmarnock boss Derek McInnes has said: “It’s that time of the year where you’re trying to free up some space in the squad, on reflection there’s lads that have left that have been here a long time. We wish them well in the future and thank them for everything they’ve done at this club.

“Kerr and Jack were out on loan and managed to get games under their belt and will benefit from that when they go to their next clubs. Young Aaron Quigg has done well, but he’s just a victim of not having an out and out reserve league, he went months at a time without playing games, he had a loan at Albion Rovers so now we’re hoping he can go and play regular, settled football.

“Steven Warnock is a sore one for us, it was difficult to do, we tried to get him good loans last season but there wasn’t enough interest which was a surprise to myself and my staff. He’s a brilliant boy, he’s been at the club a long time, he’s one that we’ve worked hard to try and find his next step for him, unfortunately for us and him it’s not going to be at Kilmarnock. He is someone that we intend to stay in contact with and continue to help him, hopefully he goes and showcases the talent that he has at his next club.”

The retained list arrives after McInnes himself signed a new contract as Kilmarnock boss. He said after putting pen-to-paper: "I come bouncing into work with a smile on my face, everyone here is so supportive, from the backroom staff up to the board." He added: “The demand will change next season, so I'll enjoy it just now because I know I'll not get to enjoy it for too long.”