Danny Armstrong delighted to see old friend Matty Kennedy at Kilmarnock

Danny Armstrong revealed it was a case of friends reunited when Matty Kennedy joined him at Kilmarnock this summer.

The two attackers grew up as neighbours in Ayr before their careers took them down different paths.

Kennedy started out at Rugby Park before moving to Everton in 2012.

The 28-year-old subsequently played for a series of clubs before arriving from Aberdeen where he met up again with Armstrong, who joined Killie from Raith Rovers in 2021, having started his senior career at Wolves.

Ahead of the Premiership opener against Rangers at Rugby Park on Saturday, Armstrong, 25, said: “We grew up as neighbours in Ayr around 12, 13, or maybe even younger.

“He is a good bit older than me. We grew up together and he moved down south. We always stayed in touch. We have always stayed mates and we have had a good few holidays together so it was good to get him in the door.

“We have always said it (we’d play together) for a laugh, we never thought we would get the chance but it came here. We were on holiday in the summer before he knew he was signing here.

“I told him it was a great place to be, a great group of lads. He made the decision very quickly. It was nice to get it officially done.”

While Killie have four Viaplay Cup games under their belts, it will be the first competitive game of the season for Michael Beale’s squad which has been revamped during the transfer window.

Ecuador midfielder Jose Cifuentes, 24, signed on Thursday from Los Angeles FC on a four-year deal and is Rangers’ ninth summer arrival.

However, Armstrong expects the Light Blues to hit the ground running.

He said: “I can’t imagine a team like Rangers being cold. We are going to have to treat them with the respect they deserve.

“We will go out there, set about our task, give the best account of ourselves we possibly can and hopefully it gets us the result.”