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 lost consecutive matches to Limavady United in the Gold Cup and Linfield in the league, causing Shiels to tender his resignation. According to the official club website Shiels was manager of Moyola Park from January 1999 to December 2000, although these dates overlap in part with his time at Coleraine. Nonetheless Shiels was in charge of the club and even signed a youthful Ivan Sproule for them. Shiels next appointment was at Ballymena United, where he was confirmed in the managerial chair on 2 January 2001. The club were battling relegation and ultimately Shiels was unable to prevent the club