Danny Armstrong names two surprising possible next club destinations as he breaks silence on why he left Kilmarnock

Scottish Sun

14-06-2025

Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
DANNY ARMSTRONG chose to stay at Kilmarnock last summer after becoming a dad for the first time.
Now he's made the decision to move on for the sake of his young daughter.
Sign up for Scottish Sun
newsletter
Sign up
1
Danny Armstrong felt he had to leave Killie for the better of his family
Credit: Kenny Ramsay
Ten-month old Darby was born at the start of the season — just 48 hours before Armstrong was due to travel to Denmark for a Conference League clash.
It was part of a whirlwind time on and off the pitch as he juggled sleepless nights with performing for the team.
Armstrong, 27, wouldn't have had it any other way, but as he prepares for a new chapter in his career he looks at Darby and knows he has to make the right choice for her.
He revealed: 'People told me your life will change once you have your child, and it's been exactly that. It was great timing with Darby too — she came two days before the Copenhagen game!
'It was a crazy time. Myself and my partner had a nightmare spell at the hospital, and I was trying to play games while she was in there. It takes its toll.
'I had the chance to move last summer, and another opportunity to move in January. But you base your decisions on what's best for your family.
'People tell you that, but you don't properly realise it until you have your family. That's why I didn't move last summer.
'I spoke long and hard with my agents at the time.
'I always kept in touch with the Killie gaffer Derek McInnes about it. He was always clear he wanted me to stay.
'I don't think the club would have let me go anyway until the European games were done. But I never tried to leave. I wasn't pushing for a move.
Moment Derek McInnes and coaching team leave Rugby Park for last time as Killie boss prepares to join Hearts
'I always told the gaffer I was more than happy to stay and I'm pleased with that.
'A small number of people out there were thinking my head was elsewhere, and that I didn't want to be at Kilmarnock, when it was never the case.
'My full focus was always on Killie and the gaffer knew that. My team-mates knew it too.
'But my daughter being born was a massive part of my decision to stay then.
'The day I took her home I flew to Copenhagen that night. People don't see these kinds of things. They don't know the sacrifices you make for football and your career.
'The day we got back from Denmark, I had five hours with her then we had to go up to Pittodrie to play, and I had two nights in Aberdeen.
'They were the first few days of my daughter's life.
'Then you don't really get the sleep you need. That week was just madness. You had so much on and there were games you didn't want to miss.
'It's your job too. You reach the end of the window and you're relieved because then the speculation stops, and you can start focusing on football again — as well as on your daughter and your family.
'It's been the best ten months of my life, having Darby here, and I wouldn't change it.
'Now it's time to get the move spot on so I can raise her where I want to raise her, and I can let my partner settle and give her that certainty because it's difficult for everyone involved.'
At Killie, Armstrong bagged 26 goals and 35 assists, won the Championship title, helped fire the club to fourth spot in the Premiership in 2024, and tasted European football.
He has been strongly linked with Hearts, with former Killie gaffer McInnes now in charge at Tynecastle.
Armstrong doesn't know where he's going next, but said: 'I've had options from all over the world but it's about it being the right one. Myself and my partner are all on the same page.
'It could be abroad. It could be England. It could be wherever. I don't like putting a ceiling on my ambition or my level.
'I've got another two or three good contracts left in me.
'I don't want my next deal to be my best one. I want my next one to be the one which lets me do it again.
'I've done it at Killie and in the Premiership.
'Now I want to prove I can do it wherever I go next, however big the club is, and show I've got more to give.
'People probably think I'm more comfortable than maybe I feel inside with no move made yet. But I've got family who need to be reassured.
'If I'm stressed then how are they going to be? It's not easy for them. I've always spoken to the people I need to speak to.
'I kept in touch with the gaffer at Killie when the speculation was going on before.
'He always said to speak to him if I needed to. I had offers and I made it clear I wanted to see myself out at Killie. He wanted to keep me too.
'I feel like I've dealt with it well. I don't think I've made any wrong decisions.'
Armstrong put his future to one side earlier this week to turn up in Majorca to surprise his dad on his 70th birthday, but will now get back to mapping out his playing career.
He will never forget what his four years at Killie did for him though — and that was why it was so difficult to leave.
Armstrong added: 'It was probably the toughest decision of my career. It was a place I fell in love with. It was an amazing four years there.
'It was so hard to leave. I've made so many good friends who I'll have for life.
'I loved working under the gaffer too. He brought the best out of me.
'We were away to surprise my dad and it was brilliant to relax and take my mind off things, but now it's about getting back and deciding what's next for me.'
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page