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 embarrassed by the result and extremely disappointed with the performance. The scoreline was criticized by Dundee's manager Paul Hartley, whose team was promoted to the Scottish Premiership, comparing the scoreline to that of matches played in a pub league, while the chief executive, Scot Gardiner, would described the score line as "laughable" and "ridiculous". After a spell managing BEC Tero Sasana in Thailand, Shiels was appointed manager of League of Ireland club Derry City in November 2015. Shiels is the father of Northern Ireland international player Dean Shiels. Shiels is also the father-in-law of St Mirren manager Oran Kearney. His