Former Celtic captain Scott Brown returns to management as new Ayr United boss

Scott Brown has been appointed as the new head coach of Ayr United, with the former Celtic and Scotland star back in management months after leaving Fleetwood Town.

Brown will be assisted by former teammate Steven Whittaker at Somerset Park, with the duo signing contracts with the Honest Men until June 2026.

Ayr United chairman David Smith said “I am delighted to welcome Scott and Steven as the new management team.

“We have had a busy eight days conducting informal conversations and more formal interviews with a number of very credible candidates and Scott and Steven showed lots of positive attributes that made them the preferred candidates for the club.

“They are clear in the messages they want to communicate to the players and will use the staff group that we have assembled to the fullest in order to improve players and achieve performances and results on the pitch.

“They have a very good personal and working relationship and were very clear on how their dynamic works.

“We are delighted to secure their services and are very much looking forward to working with them going forward”

Managing Director, Graeme Mathie said “I’m really looking forward to working with Scott and Steven.

Following their successful playing careers, both have undertaken coaching roles alongside gaining their coaching qualifications; Scott at Aberdeen before joining Fleetwood and Steven at Dunfermline in the Scottish Championship.

“Having both played at the very highest level they are both aware of the standards required to be successful, and – whilst we won’t be able to provide the luxury of some of the resources they’ve enjoyed previously – they have shown an ability to adapt to the environments they have been working in when required.

“This is an exciting appointment for Ayr United and I have no doubt will be remembered as an exciting period of time on our journey.”

The job is Brown’s second in management. Towards the end of a career that saw him star for Hibernian, Celtic and Scotland, winning 23 major trophies and earning 55 international caps, Brown took on a player-coach role at Aberdeen but left Pittodrie in early 2022.

He took on the manager’s role at Fleetwood Town several months later and took the team to a 13th-place finish in League One in his only full season in charge. After a poor start to this season, he was sacked in September.

Brown will now look to turn Ayr’s form around and guide them away from the foot of the table. The team are currently ninth in the Championship, just two points ahead of bottom side Arbroath. However, with 16 games to play, the team are only seven points off the promotion play-off places.

The new manager will also have a Scottish Cup fifth round tie to look forward to. Ayr United were drawn to play Rangers in a tie that will take place at Ibrox on the weekend of February 9.