Dalglish helped Houston Dynamo to successive Major League Soccer championships after leaving Hibernian in 2006.

The 31-year-old has signed for Killie until the summer but he intends to finish his career in Scotland before returning to the States.
The well-travelled forward made a big impact in the 2006 MLS play-offs, netting four goals in four games before an ankle injury curtailed his second season.

But he hopes the American experience will pay dividends when he returns to Clydesdale Bank Premier League action, possibly against Aberdeen this afternoon, following earlier spells at Hibs, Livingston and Celtic.

Dalglish said: "I never played as much in my second year because I had to have surgery on my ankle, but the first season went brilliantly and the second season started well.

"I didn't play too much after I had the ankle operation but all of it is good memories in America. It's a lot hotter so you have to keep possession a lot more. Teams keep the ball at the back and midfield and when it gets into the final third they increase the pace then, because it's so hot that you can't run around the way we do here for 90 minutes.

"I have learned a different style of football and whether I'm a better player or not, time will tell.

"I'd like to think I am, I'm more experienced, but time will tell."

The arrival of David Beckham at the Los Angeles Galaxy has increased the profile of the MLS but Dalglish insists the standard of football was high throughout his stay.

"I really enjoyed it, it's a great standard," Dalglish added. "People would probably be surprised at the standard. If you look at most American players that have come over to the UK, most of them have done well, most of them are playing in the (Barclays] Premier League, which is supposedly one of the best leagues on the world.

"That tells you a little bit about the standard of the American players. Celtic went over there and played against an American team and got beaten, Chelsea went over there and got beaten, that shows you what the standard is like. It's a good standard and probably underrated throughout the world."

The former Scotland Under-21 international is keen to finish his career in his home country but will return to the States in the long term.

"It's brilliant over there, obviously with my wife being American it would be nice for her to be near her family," said Dalglish, who scored in a second-team win over Gretna on Tuesday. "There is something to be said for waking up every day and you open the curtains and the sun is shining."

The arrival of Dalglish is a welcome addition for Kilmarnock, who have seen their striking options severely depleted in recent seasons. Killie, who could once boast Rangers duo Kris Boyd and Steven Naismith in their ranks, currently sit second-bottom of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

The Ayrshire side have lost several key players in recent seasons, with Colin Nish the latest regular goalscorer to leave Rugby Park when he moved to Hibernian during the January transfer window.

However, Aberdeen manager Jimmy Calderwood maintains his side are in a similar situation to today's opponents when it comes to important players leaving for pastures new – shown by the fact Michael Hart, Russell Anderson, Markus Heikkinen and Kevin McNaughton all no longer ply their trade at Pittodrie.

Calderwood believes if he could name that quartet as his back line then Aberdeen would not have conceded so many goals this season, nor would Bayern Munich have put five goals past them on Wednesday night.

He said: "You can look at who has left this place through the years and if we had a defence of Hart, Anderson, Heikkinen and McNaughton, I don't think teams would be scoring five against us with that defence.

"That's the way football goes for us, Kilmarnock and probably everyone outside Rangers or Celtic, so you just have to get on with it."

Aberdeen travel to Rugby Park looking to bounce back from the midweek disappointment of that 5-1 reverse to Bayern in Germany.

That defeat eliminated Aberdeen from the UEFA Cup, but only after the Pittodrie club got to the last 32 of the competition by taking on Dnipro, Panathinaikos, Lokomotiv Moscow, Atletico Madrid and FC Copenhagen.

Given the high standard of opposition the Dons faced, Calderwood is proud at what his players achieved in the competition.

He said: "All and all, it has been fabulous and you are hurting at the moment because it was 5-1.

"But if you look back to when we started in August, to get to the 21st of February, with the quality of teams we have played against, then we have not done too badly."