“Scott Brown Takes Helm at Ayr United Alongside Steven Whittaker, Charting a New Course for Somerset Park”

The club officially announced today, on Tuesday, January 23, that Scott Brown, a Celtic legend, is set to assume the managerial role.

Brown will be joined by his former Hibernian teammate Steven Whittaker, and both appointments were confirmed just before the match against Arbroath.

Brown steps into the managerial position at Somerset Park following the

departure of Lee Bullen earlier this month.

Bullen left the club after a run of one win in 11 matches during his two-year tenure at Ayrshire.

The former Celtic captain is expected to take charge of the club for

the first time on Saturday, January 27, facing Queen’s Park at Hampden after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal with Ayr.

His third game in charge will be a notable one, as Ayr faces Rangers

in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup at Ibrox on the weekend of February 10.

Brown, with 55 Scotland caps, returns to the dugout after managing

English League One side Fleetwood Town.

His managerial stint began when he assumed a player-coach role at Aberdeen in 2021 after leaving Celtic.

Following his departure from Aberdeen in March 2022, he took over

Fleetwood’s managerial role in May of the same year, achieving

notable milestones like leading the team to the FA Cup fourth round for the first time in their history.

Ayr United chairman David Smith expressed his delight in

securing their “preferred candidates” and highlighted the positive attributes that Brown and Whittaker demonstrated during the selection process.

Graeme Mathie, the Managing Director, shared his excitement about

working with the new managerial duo, emphasizing their

successful playing careers and coaching experiences.

The appointments are seen as an exciting development for Ayr United,

with the team currently positioned in ninth place,

the relegation play-off spot, in the Scottish Championship.

Ayr is two points ahead of bottom side Arbroath in the automatic

relegation position, but still within striking distance of the final

promotion play-off position held by Airdrieonians.

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