In just under 24 hours we welcome Kilmarnock to Palmerston for our first home game of the 2021/22 Championship season.

With the Ayrshire giants having spent many years in the topflight, it’s been 30+ years since the two sides met on league business and 15 years since they last visited Palmerston in the league cup. Our most recent meeting was at Rugby Park in 2012/13 when we were drawn together in the Scottish Cup. Killie winning on both occasions.

Following their relegation from the Premier League Tommy Wright’s men got off to a good start in the Championship with a 2-0 victory over rivals Ayr United in their opening match. While we were edged out 3-2 by Partick Thistle in our first game.

Looking ahead to the visit of his former club, Manager Allan Johnston said “I spent five seasons at Kilmarnock as a player and then returned as manager so it’s a club I know well. They are a big club who will want a quick return to the Premier League having been there for so long.

I watched them against Ayr on Monday night, and they have quality players, so we know we have to be at our best. There were a lot of encouraging signs against Partick Thistle last week, so we are frustrated we came away with nothing to show for our performance.

It is going to be another very competitive season as there a lot of good teams in the league. Our home games are going to be really important. The visit of Kilmarnock is the first of those and its probably one of the toughest we will face as they are the clear favourites to be top of the table come the end of the season.

We know we still need to add a couple of players but in the main I am pleased with the squad and the way it is coming together.

It’s great that we have supporters back as it makes a big difference to the players. This will be our first game for a long time that we have also had some away fans in the ground so it should be a good game and a good atmosphere”.

We are still working under restrictions and have been running the ticket application process. Please note all the tickets have been allocated and there will be NO walk-up tickets on the day. As per the last match, those who have successfully applied for tickets will receive an email with their seat allocation and entry time. Please check your inbox and follow the instructions carefully.

For those who aren’t attending in person, we are offering a live stream of the match on QOSTV for £10. Season tickets who are not attending the game can also watch the game for free. All season ticket holders should have had an email with instructions on how to access the streams, but the arrangement is the same as last season.

Tomorrow’s match kicks off at 3pm.