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 at the end of the season. Alongside his club jobs, Shiels was also employed by the Irish Football Association to manage the Northern Ireland national under-17 football team, a role he retained, until 2007, when new senior manager Nigel Worthington brought in his own men at youth levels. Shiels took charge of Larne for the 2005–06 season and took the club to two cup semi-finals, but his full-time job with the IFA meant that he was unable to fully devote his time to the club and so he stood down at the end of the season. Shiels joined Tranmere Rovers