Dean Shiels on as a 74th-minute substitute. Shiels scored his first goal for Kilmarnock in a 2–1 away defeat to Inverness CT. He scored a penalty in a 1–0 win over Hearts, after Marius Zaliukas fouled Paul Heffernan. Shiels signed for Kilmarnock on a permanent basis in January 2012. Shiels scored the only goal of the Scottish League Cup semi-final against Ayrshire derby rivals Ayr United on 28 January. He also scored the winning goal in a game against Rangers at Ibrox on 18 February, in Rangers' first game after entering administration. On 18 March, he played in the 2012 Scottish League
Kenny Shiels several signings, the club, remained bottom of the league and a 2-0 loss against Alloa Athletic on 12 April 2014 confirmed relegation for Morton. Despite being relegated, it was initially believed that Shiels would stay on as the Greenock Morton boss for the next season, and attempt to return Morton to the Championship, similar to his experience during his time at Coleraine. However, Shiels resigned on May 2014 following a 10-2 defeat by Hamilton Academical which ended a poor season and relegation from the Scottish Championship. Immediately after the match, Shiels said in the post-match press conference, that he was