Kilmarnock have continued a busy week of recruitment by signing defender Corrie Ndaba on a season-long loan from Ipswich.

The 23-year-old Irish centre-half came through the academy at Town but has made only five first-team appearances for his parent club.

Ndaba has had several loan spells in recent seasons, most notably at Killie’s local rivals Ayr in the first half of 2021 and at Salford, where he won the Supporters’ Player of the Year award in 2021-22.

He spent last on loan at Burton and Fleetwood, making a total of 19 appearances across the campaign.

Ndaba’s arrival was announced a day after Killie completed the triple signing of attacker Matty Kennedy, midfielder Kyle Magennis and on-loan Bournemouth goalkeeper Will Dennis.

The Ayrshire club also revealed on Thursday that 24-year-old English defender Jack Sanders, who spent last season on loan at Cove Rangers, has signed a new one-year contract for the upcoming campaign.

The three teams relegated from the Premier League have been handed a seemingly-comfortable start to the new season after Thursday’s release of the new campaign’s EFL fixtures.

Leicester, Leeds and Southampton will begin life back in the Championship under new managers with their sights set on an immediate return, and the fixture computer looks to have been kind – at least in the early stages.

The PA news agency has analysed the three divisions’ schedules using an aggregation of leading bookmakers’ odds and identified the most notable runs.

Settling-in period

Leicester boss Enzo Maresca faces Coventry in his first game in charge and, while the Sky Blues reached last season’s play-off final, they are ranked only 11th in the aggregated promotion odds this time around.

Matches against Huddersfield, Cardiff and Rotherham, all ranked in the bottom six, and 16th-ranked Hull follow before they face fellow-relegated side Southampton in game six.

Leeds, who are currently managerless, open up at Elland Road against Cardiff – always a fiery encounter but representing opposition ranked 19th by the bookmakers and fancied to battle against relegation.

Birmingham follow with West Brom the toughest opposition in an opening six games against teams averaging 14.2 in the projected league positions.

Saints, who appointed Russell Martin on Wednesday, have fifth-ranked Norwich as well as the Foxes in their opening six games but also two promoted sides – Sheffield Wednesday, in the season’s opening game on August 4, and Plymouth – as well as QPR.

Leicester will also fancy their chances in the run-in, with relegation-candidates Birmingham, Plymouth and Preston in their last six games. Leeds and Saints have things tougher and meet at Elland Road on the final day.

Fast start vital for Hornets

Watford, also under new management yet again in the form of Valerien Ismael, have the easiest first six opponents on paper, with QPR, Plymouth and Birmingham in the bottom four of the combined odds and Stoke, Blackburn and Coventry also outside the play-off places.

The Hornets have the only harder run-in on paper than Southampton, though, and it stretches to their final eight games, facing Leeds, West Brom, Preston, Ipswich, Southampton, Hull, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.

Martin’s old club Swansea have West Brom and Coventry as the only projected top-half finishers among their first eight, which also include Birmingham, Preston, Bristol City, Cardiff, QPR and Wednesday.

The toughest start on paper belongs to the Sky Blues as they seek to bounce back from their Wembley heartbreak. Mark Robins’ side face Leicester, Middlesbrough, Swansea, Sunderland and Watford before things start to ease up with Hull, Cardiff, Huddersfield and QPR back-to-back.

Their first six are matched for difficulty by QPR’s, with Cardiff the only let-up in a run also featuring Watford, Ipswich, Saints, Boro and Sunderland.

Posh problems?

Promotion-hopefuls Peterborough have the toughest start on paper in League One, with five of their first six opponents projected to finish in the top eight.

Reading, Barnsley and favourites Derby are tipped to finish above fifth-ranked Posh, with Charlton and Portsmouth also in the play-off picture and only Northampton seemingly offering much respite.

Burton and Cheltenham – both among the relegation favourites – face four and five of the projected top eight in their respective first eight games, while Shrewsbury’s first six, by contrast, includes both those teams plus Stevenage, Fleetwood and Carlisle, all ranked in the bottom seven.

Projected strugglers Cambridge and Carlisle have tough run-ins, with the late-season fixtures seeming to favour Cheltenham if they can stay in touch, while Derby have the friendliest run-in on paper of the promotion favourites.

Dragons decider

Three of the last four teams promoted into League Two are the favourites to go up again as this term’s top three, with last season’s risers Wrexham and Notts County sandwiching Stockport.

Intriguingly, the latter visit big-spending Wrexham on the final day with promotion potentially at stake – providing an echo of the Dragons’ National League meeting with Notts County in April when Ben Foster’s last-minute penalty save went a long way to deciding first place.

Crawley, tipped for relegation, have the toughest opening six games in the entire EFL with Bradford, Salford, MK Dons, Gillingham, Swindon and Stockport’s projected league positions averaging out to sixth.

Spare a thought too for Newport, who face projected top-seven finishers Notts County, Gills, MK Dons, Mansfield and Stockport in succession from games 15-19 – and then have to do it all again, in the same order, in games 33-37.

Southampton will take on Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough in the opening match of the new Sky Bet Championship season on Friday, August 4.

Beginning life under new boss Russell Martin, the relegated Saints face a Wednesday outfit back in the second tier after winning the League One play-offs last month and currently managerless after parting company with Darren Moore.

Leicester, under new boss Enzo Maresca, and Leeds – the two other clubs to have dropped down from the Premier League – kick off their campaigns two days later at home against defeated play-off finalists Coventry and Cardiff respectively.

The other game that day sees Sunderland entertain promoted Ipswich, while League One champions Plymouth open by hosting Huddersfield the day before.

Southampton’s first home game of the campaign will be against Norwich the following Saturday, when Leicester travel to Huddersfield and Leeds are at Birmingham.

The final day of the regular Championship season on May 4 will see Leeds and Southampton go head to head at St Mary’s, while Leicester host Blackburn.

The opening round of League One fixtures on August 5 includes Wigan, who finished bottom of the Championship last term, playing at Derby as they start their season on minus eight points after being penalised over payment of wages.

Fellow relegated sides Reading and Blackpool begin at home against Peterborough and Burton respectively, while Barnsley, who missed out on promotion to Wednesday, welcome Port Vale to Oakwell.

In League Two, the return of Wrexham – owned by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – to the Football League, starts with a home clash against MK Dons.

Thursday’s release of the new season’s EFL fixtures also shows National League play-off winners Notts County beginning their own comeback campaign by playing Sutton away.

Russell Martin has been confirmed as Southampton’s new head coach.

The former Scotland international joins on a three-year deal after leaving Swansea.

Martin verbally agreed to take over at St Mary’s last month, while the clubs remained in discussions over compensation.

“It’s a privilege to accept this opportunity at Southampton, a club with such a long and rich history,” he said.

“My aim is to get this club back where it belongs – in the top flight of English football. I am ready for this challenge and will give everything to achieve this aim and to give the supporters a team that makes them proud. I’m thrilled to be here and cannot wait for the work to begin.”

Leicester were also interested in the 37-year-old but Southampton moved quickly following their relegation from the Premier League.

Several of his backroom staff, including assistant Mat Gil, are expected to join Martin.

Southampton and Swansea disagreed over the amount of compensation which should be paid, which has seen the move dragged out.

They had been haggling over £700,000 with Martin’s release clause for Championship clubs and Premier League sides different.

The Saints felt they should pay the smaller amount, around £1.25million, after their relegation from the top flight while the Swans were believed to be holding out for £2million.

Martin guided Swansea to 10th in the Championship last season despite having a bottom-four budget and the youngest squad in the division.

He has been praised for his style and Southampton will be hoping the ex-Norwich defender can guide them back to the Premier League at the first attempt.

They finished bottom after a disastrous season which has seen them use three managers.

Nathan Jones replaced Ralph Hasenhuttl in November but lasted just 14 games, winning one, and was sacked in February. Ruben Selles took charge for the final months of the campaign but was unable to keep Saints up.

Last month chief executive Martin Semmens stepped down from his role following relegation having been in the post since 2019.

Jason Wilcox was announced as Southampton’s director of football in January, joining from Manchester City, and will officially start work next week.

Wilcox added: “Russell has shown fantastic qualities in his managerial career so far and is someone who we believe will thrive in the great environment we have here at Southampton.

“He is a fantastic fit for what we are trying to achieve, with a strong record of developing and nurturing young, talented players to fulfil their potential and deliver results on the pitch. We can’t wait for Russell to get started working with the team at Staplewood as we get ready for the new season.”

Swansea are in talks with Barnsley boss Michael Duff, as revealed by the PA news agency on Sunday, with the former Burnley midfielder expected to be Martin’s replacement.

Ryan Porteous watched his Scotland team-mates gearing up for their summer holidays after Tuesday’s win over Georgia while preparing to start his next campaign the following day.

The defender was due back at Watford for a team meeting and day three of pre-season training hours after helping Scotland to victory in difficult conditions.

The former Hibernian player is happy to get back to England, though, and get to work under new head coach Valerien Ismael, who was appointed on May 10.

“All the boys are jetting off on holiday but I’m back in,” Porteous said. “There will be a big rebuild probably at Watford so I’m looking forward to getting started there.

“I had a holiday before. We finished up on the 10th (of May) so I got away for a couple of weeks.

“Listen, I will be in good shape going back. That’s what you want as a player. Pre-season is hard enough but if you are in good physical state, as you need to be in this day and age, then it will be of benefit to me.”

The defender’s return to club duty might have been delayed at one point as the Euro 2024 qualifier looked in severe doubt because of a waterlogged pitch, with rules stating any abandoned game continues the next day.

Porteous got away from Hampden after midnight but the fans were not far in front of him after a near two-hour delay while water was swept off the pitch following a torrential downpour.

Speaking after a 2-0 win for the Group A leaders, the 24-year-old said: “We wanted the game to go on because there were 50,000 fans there. For them to come to the game, spend all that money on travel and tickets and then go home very disappointed that the game was the next day, wasn’t what we wanted.

“We wanted to play the game. We understand why they (Georgia) wouldn’t because they were 1-0 down, that’s completely understandable, but most of the fans stayed to the end.

“The fans were brilliant, because it was a late night for a lot of kids and working people as well.”

The victory made it four wins from four in Group A, Scotland’s best start to any qualifying campaign, and sent them eight points clear halfway through their schedule.

Porteous said: “It’s exactly where we want to be, but the manager keeps reiterating to us and the press that we have done nothing yet.

“We have put ourselves in a fantastic position but it’s one game at a time that will get us there. We need to stay grounded.

“Four wins probably doesn’t get you there, you have to keep going.”

Watford have signed striker Rhys Healey from Toulouse on a two-year deal.

The Englishman moves to Vicarage Road after a three-year stint at the French club in which he scored 39 goals in 77 appearances and earned promotion to Ligue 1.

The 28-year-old previously spent two years with MK Dons having started his professional career with Cardiff.

Healey also had loan spells at Colchester, Dundee, Newport and Torquay earlier in his career.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore has left the club by mutual consent just three weeks after leading the Owls to promotion from League One.

Moore, 49, who guided the Owls to the Sky Bet Championship via the play-offs last month, departs Hillsborough after just over two years in the job. His backroom staff have also left, the club have announced.

Owls chairman Dejphon Chansiri told the club’s official website: “Both parties believe that now is the right time we go our separate ways.

“The journey of Sheffield Wednesday with Darren has been in many ways unique and always as a team. In the football industry, journeys come to an end and now is that time, which we both agree.

“The mutual respect we have for each other is immense on a personal and professional basis and I offer my sincere thanks for the dedication and commitment Darren has given to our club. Darren will always be welcome at Hillsborough.”

The club said the search for a new manager to lead them in the second tier next season was under way.

Former West Brom and Doncaster boss Moore said: “I would like to take this time to acknowledge the chairman, Mr Chansiri, for giving me the opportunity to manage this great football club in Sheffield Wednesday, it’s been a journey in every sense.

“Both the chairman and myself have been determined to get this club back into the Championship.

“I’m delighted this has been achieved, and I hope the football club continues to develop and will soon fulfil the dream of mine, which was to take them back to the Premier League where they belong.”

Moore steered the Owls to a 1-0 win over Barnsley after extra time in the League One play-off final 21 days ago after they had overcome an unprecedented 4-0 first-leg deficit in their semi-final against Peterborough.

He said he wanted to thank all Wednesday fans “from the bottom of my heart” for their passion and support.

Moore added: “This was most apparent during the second leg of the play-offs at Hillsborough when so many people around the country thought it wasn’t possible, we rallied together to achieve the impossible.

“The scenes I witnessed from the technical area at Wembley, especially for the winning goal, will be images I will never forget.”

The Owls were in the Championship’s bottom three when Moore replaced the sacked Tony Pulis in March 2021 and were relegated at the end of that season.

They lost to Sunderland in the League One play-off semi-finals in 2022 and returned to the Championship via the play-offs last season having set a new club record of 23 league games unbeaten before defeat to Barnsley in March.

QPR have announced the departure of club captain Stefan Johansen after his contract was mutually terminated.

The 32-year-old joined the R’s on loan from Fulham in January 2021 before making a permanent move in the summer.

He made 88 appearances overall for the club.

Johansen told the club website: “There is no bad blood at all, I have had conversations with the club and I think it’s time to move on.

“It suits all parties that I am leaving now. I have had a great time but do wish that I could have achieved what I came here to do, which was promotion to the Premier League.

“From the moment (boss) Gareth (Ainsworth) walked through the door we got on really well. We respect each other and have a strong relationship.

“He is a great guy and I leave the club with him as a good friend.”

Swansea are progressing with talks for Michael Duff to become their new manager.

Discussions are on-going for the Barnsley boss to succeed Russell Martin in Wales.

Swansea have made an approach to the Tykes but no deal has been struck between the clubs yet, the PA news agency understands.

The Swans, who finished 10th in the Championship last season, want the ex-Cheltenham boss with Martin poised to move to Southampton.

Saints are close to officially announcing Martin as their new manager after the 37-year-old agreed to move to St Mary’s last month.

Southampton and Swansea have disagreed over the amount of compensation which should be paid.

They have been haggling over £700,000 with Martin’s release clause for Championship clubs and Premier League sides different.

The Saints felt they should pay the smaller amount, around £1.25million, after their relegation from the top flight while the Swans have been holding out for £2million.

Former Swansea assistant Chris Davies, who is expected to join Ange Postecoglou’s coaching staff at Tottenham, was linked while the club held an interest in Birmingham boss John Eustace.

But Duff has emerged as the No.1 candidate after just a year at Oakwell having guided them to the League One play-offs.

The Tykes lost 1-0 in the last minute of extra time to Sheffield Wednesday in the final at Wembley.

Former Burnley midfielder Duff spent four years as Cheltenham manager, winning League Two in 2021 – the club’s first league title in their history – before cementing the Robins’ place in League One and joining Barnsley last summer, finishing fourth last season.

Sunderland have announced the signing of striker Luis Hemir Silva Semedo on a five-year contract.

The 19-year-old arrives from Benfica for an undisclosed fee having featured for their B team and under-23 side over the last two seasons, scoring 28 goals in 61 appearances.

Following his arrival at the Stadium of Light, Hemir told the club website: “This is a big move for me and I am very excited to be here.

“Sunderland have a lot of young players playing an important part in the team and I think this will be really good for my personal development. I’m excited to meet my new team mates, see the stadium and experience the fans.”

Leicester have announced the appointment of Enzo Maresca as their new manager on a deal running to 2026.

The 43-year-old Italian arrives at the King Power Stadium having previously been working as part of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City.

Maresca succeeds Dean Smith, who failed to prevent Leicester being relegated from the Premier League after taking charge for the final eight games of the 2022-23 season following Brendan Rodgers’ exit.

Maresca told Leicester’s official website: “I’m very excited because of the club (I’m joining) and because we have a big season ahead of us.

“At the beginning, the target is to play in the best way we can. From there, we can build, day by day, our idea and our philosophy, and the most important thing is to try to win games.

“First of all, we’re going to give 100 per cent, absolutely, because the club deserves this. It’s our job, our duty to do that. Then, as I said, day by day, step by step, absolutely we’re going to improve.”

Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha said: “Enzo brings a combination of personality, method and ambition that meets extremely well with the footballing direction we are looking to take.

“His philosophy has been built over a rich and varied career, including an outstanding education as a coach, and fits with the vision we have for this next chapter in Leicester City’s history.

“Enzo’s profile has stood out to us for some time – a feeling that was only enhanced upon meeting him and listening to his enthusiasm for the challenge ahead. I have no doubt he will be warmly welcomed by our supporters and that together we can reset the club’s course towards future success.”

Former West Brom, Juventus, Sevilla, Olympiacos and Malaga midfielder Maresca, who had a stint as an assistant coach at West Ham under Manuel Pellegrini, returned to Manchester City last summer for a second spell with the club.

He had previously been in charge of their elite development squad for the 2020-21 season, during which they won the Premier Leaguer 2 title, before departing for what proved a short tenure as Parma boss.

He leaves Guardiola’s treble winners for Leicester as the midlands outfit look to swiftly bounce back after dropping down for a first Championship season since 2013-14, a relegation that came seven years on from their remarkable Premier League-winning campaign and two years after lifting the FA Cup.

Reading have been charged by the EFL with multiple breaches of its financial regulations for repeatedly failing to pay their players in the 2022-23 season.

The charges relate to three separate occasions on which players’ wages were not paid on time and in full as the team were relegated from the Championship.

Owner Dai Yongge has also been charged with allowing the club to be in breach of the EFL’s financial rules.

Reading were docked six points in April for breaking profit and sustainability rules which ultimately led to them finishing in the bottom three and dropping into League One.

Manager Paul Ince was sacked later that month with the club on a winless run of eight games.

He was replaced by interim boss Noel Hunt who failed to win any of his five matches in charge.

An EFL statement read: “The charges relate to the club failing to meet their obligations to pay its players’ wages on time and in full on or around 31 October 2022, 30 November 2022 and 28 April 2023.

“Yongge Dai, the club’s owner, has also been charged with causing the club to be in breach of EFL regulations despite his commitment to fund the cash requirements of the club.

“The club and Mr Dai have until 4pm on Thursday 29 June 2023 to respond to the charges.”

QPR director of football Les Ferdinand has stepped down from the role.

Ferdinand, 56, spent eight years as a player at the club and returned to Loftus Road in 2014, initially as head of football operations.

QPR were relegated from the Premier League in 2015 and have spent the last eight years in the Championship, narrowly avoiding relegation last season.

Ferdinand told the club’s official website: “This has not been an easy decision. My life is football, I love football and I want to stay in football, but I do feel this is the right time for me to step down from my position here.

“Everyone knows how special Queens Park Rangers is to me and it has been a privilege to be back at the club.

“There have been challenging times and I have had to make some very difficult decisions but every decision I have made has been with the best interests of the club at heart.”

QPR appointed Gareth Ainsworth as head coach in February after sacking Neil Critchley, who lasted just 12 games in the role.

Critchley had replaced Michael Beale, who left Loftus Road in November to become Rangers manager having guided QPR to seventh in the table.

QPR chairman Amit Bhatia added: “In an industry where individuals with genuine authenticity and integrity appear to be scarce, Les’ sincerity and honesty have always set him apart, and have made him so special and so valued by the board.”

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna has signed a new four-year deal after guiding the club to promotion to the Sky Bet Championship in his first full season in charge.

Ex-Manchester United coach McKenna earned plenty of admirers following a goal-laden 2022-23 campaign, but has committed his future to Ipswich.

“I’ve loved almost every minute of my time at the club so far and it’s a proud and joyous day to be able to extend my stay,” McKenna told the official club website.

“I look forward to leading the club in the challenges ahead. It’s clear to see the club is ambitious and moving in a positive direction, but we need to work hard each day to keep going.

“We have fantastic support, great owners, a really strong board and a staff and group of players who are fighting to keep pushing the club forward.

“That’s great to be a part of and I’m really looking forward to the next steps.”

McKenna, a one-time Tottenham trainee, took over at Ipswich at the end of 2021 on a three-and-a-half-year deal, but his new terms keep him contracted to the club until 2027.

Leeds have appointed former Celtic head of football operations Nick Hammond as “interim football advisor on a short-term contract”.

Hammond, 55, will help Leeds with their summer recruitment plans as they continue their search for a permanent director of football.

The club said: “Leeds United are pleased to confirm the appointment of Nick Hammond as the club’s interim football advisor on a short-term contract.

“Hammond will help support the club during the summer transfer window.

“The experienced 55-year-old, former director of football at Reading and head of football operations at Celtic, worked in a similar consultancy role at Newcastle United.

“The process for finding a new, permanent, director of football at Leeds United is under way and the club aim to complete this process by October, allowing the successful candidate to focus on the January transfer window.”

Former Swindon and Reading goalkeeper Hammond spent 13 years as Reading’s first director of football from 2003 and was West Brom’s technical director before becoming Celtic’s head of football operations in 2019.

Leeds parted company with former director of football Victor Orta by mutual consent last month, shortly before being relegated from the Premier League.

They are also in the hunt for a new head coach after Sam Allardyce, appointed with four games remaining, left Elland Road earlier this month.