Jimmy Nicholl followed Calderwood when he took over as manager at Aberdeen, again serving as his assistant until the two parted company with the club in May 2009. He resumed his partnership with Calderwood at Kilmarnock in 2010. Nicholl was appointed manager of Cowdenbeath in June 2010, but he left Cowdenbeath at the end of the 2010–11 season after they were relegated from the First Division. Nicholl was then appointed assistant manager of Kilmarnock for a second time, by Kenny Shiels on 15 June 2011. Kilmarnock won the 2011–12 Scottish League Cup under Shiels and Nicholl, but Shiels was sacked by Kilmarnock
Stephen Kenny (footballer) CIS Cup and several humiliating defeats in the league left Dunfermline significantly behind the leading teams in the First Division and cost him his job, in spite of a run to the lower-league Scottish Challenge Cup Final. After one year in charge, on 4 December 2007, Kenny was sacked as Dunfermline Athletic manager. Striker Jim McIntyre – injured for much of Kenny's reign – took charge as caretaker of the club. Following his departure from Dunfermline Athletic and the sacking of Derry City manager John Robertson, Kenny was strongly linked with a return to the League of Ireland club. In