Matty Kennedy first game for "Killie" in a 2–1 win over St Mirren at Rugby Park on 2 January 2012. He ended the 2011–12 campaign with 11 Scottish Premier League appearances. He played three games at the start of the 2012–13 season before leaving the club; manager Kenny Shiels expressed his concern that Kennedy had left Kilmarnock too soon and he had missed out on seeing Kennedy's "proper development" at the club. On 31 August 2012, the final day of the summer transfer window, Kennedy signed for English Premier League side Everton for a "nominal fee". The fee was later revealed to
Kenny Shiels with the Ulster Cup and Coleraine underlined their credentials by winning this competition. They carried their form into the league, with Shiels' men sitting top of the league after eight matches. The club remained in the hunt for the league title until the end of the season when they were pipped for the honours by Crusaders. This was to be the high-water mark of Shiels' time at Coleraine as the club began to slip back into a more mid-table position, despite some comparatively heavy investment in playing staff. During the 1999–2000 season, things came to a head when the club