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 Securely in charge, Shiels led the club to an 8–0 drubbing of Newry Town in the next match, the second of what proved to be a twenty match unbeaten league run. With his younger brother Sammy Shiels, who had played under Kenny Shiels' management at Carrick, leading the line in scoring 25 league goals, Coleraine won the title, and thus promotion, a full fifteen points ahead of runners-up Ballymena United. The club would also win the inaugural Irish News Cup, a competition for Irish League and League of Ireland clubs in North-West Ireland, that same season. The following season began