Kilmarnock 0-0 Motherwell: Shiels says family ties will ensure Kilmarnock see the best of him

Dean Shiels expressed confidence that his father's style of play will get the best out of him after the former Hibs midfielder began his Kilmarnock career in a goalless draw with Motherwell.

Kilmarnock manager Kenny Shiels signed his son from Doncaster on loan just in time to put him on the bench for this entertaining Clydesdale Bank Premier League contest at Rugby Park. The pair have worked together in the Northern Ireland youth set-up but never at club level and Shiels junior showed some good touches after coming on in the 73rd minute.

The 26-year-old, who was a regular at his npower Championship side but wanted to return to Scotland for family reasons, is not unduly concerned about facing added pressure and is confident he can supplement Kilmarnock's passing game.

"I think every player is under pressure to perform," he said. "Once you're out there playing, he's not my dad, he's my boss. I'm out to do a job for him, the team, the fans. When you're out there things like that aren't on your mind."

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The midfielder, one of seven summer signings to feature against Motherwell, added: "Anyone who knows my father will know he will not treat me any different to anyone else, and I wouldn't want it any other way."

Kilmarnock started well against Motherwell and had a decent penalty claim denied when James Dayton went down after Keith Lasley's challenge.

But Motherwell dominated first-half possession after the opening 10 minutes. Jamie Murphy just missed Nicky Law's low cross, Shaun Hutchinson headed over from one of his side's 13 corners and Cammy Bell pushed over Bob McHugh's powerful strike.

The Kilmarnock goalkeeper pulled off a better save just after the restart to deny Steve Jennings from 25 yards and Law was thwarted by a last-gasp tackle from Zdenek Kroca when clean through. But the second half was more even and Darren Randolph made some decent saves from long range, notably from Dayton.

Motherwell manager Stuart McCall, whose team are top of the SPL courtesy of a 3-0 win over Inverness, did not entirely agree with suggestions his team passed the ball too much.

"Look at our goals last week - 16 passes for the first goal, 12 passes for second," McCall said. "As long as you're passing with an eye to go forward and not just for the sake of it.

"It's also important, and we worked on it on Friday, not to give the ball away in heat like that. You work that hard to get it back you don't want to give it away cheaply.

"But we got into some good areas. The heat was a telling factor, especially in the second half.

"Both teams tired because it was a red hot day, and we haven't had a full pre-season behind us.

"I think you'll see in three or four weeks that teams are able to last the full 90 minutes."