When Ayr United’s bid to win promotion led to failure on the finish of final season, Scott Brown’s criticism of his gamers was brutal and unsparing.
After watching his group blow a first-leg lead and lose to Partick Thistle within the play-offs, the previous Celtic captain basically threw them below a bus.
‘Late on, they weren’t even attempting to win the sport, if I’m trustworthy,’ he mentioned. ‘It’s nearly want and mentality … I have to have a protracted, arduous take into consideration issues now and see the place I am going from right here.’
To slaughter his gamers so publicly, whereas questioning his personal future as supervisor, solely fuelled suspicions {that a} parting of the methods might nicely be on the playing cards.
Ayr chairman David Smith finally quashed these rumours, insisting that Brown wouldn’t stroll away and that his feedback had been ‘taken a little bit bit out of context’.
The plan was for everybody – the membership, the supervisor, the gamers – to have a reset over the summer season earlier than mounting one other promotion push with a contemporary begin within the new season.
Scott Brown’s Ayr United haven’t made a superb begin to the brand new Championship season
Brown was an exquisite captain at Celtic however he cannot dwell on status ceaselessly as a supervisor
Plainly, issues will not be going to plan. Even with the brand new marketing campaign nonetheless in its infancy, the doubts about Brown’s future and his suitability as supervisor have solely grown louder.
Ayr have made a poor begin to the Championship season, taking just one level from their opening two matches. A 1-1 draw away at Arbroath on the opening day was adopted by a 1-0 house defeat to Raith Rovers final weekend.
Two eminently winnable video games, they represented an awesome likelihood for the Sincere Males to make a quick begin as they seemed to maintain tempo with title favourites St Johnstone on the high of the desk.
As a substitute, the outpouring of anger from punters at Somerset Park final weekend after Raith defeat made it clear that Brown is now operating out of time to show this round.
It’s too simplistic to view final season by way of the prism of shedding within the play-offs. Fact be informed, Ayr’s slide began lengthy earlier than the defeat to Thistle in Could.
They limped into the play-offs, profitable solely two of their final 9 matches. Having been in title rivalry at one stage halfway by way of the season, they faltered and fell away badly on the enterprise finish of the season.
Brown had been nicely backed financially. Talking final season, membership chairman Smith revealed that the supervisor had been afforded the most important price range within the membership’s historical past.
Gamers like Curtis Fundamental had been signed for good cash, with the striker’s wages understood to be in extra of £1,500 per week.
Brown was sacked as supervisor of Fleetwood City after 16 months in cost
Time might be operating out for Celtic icon as he tries to get issues proper at Ayr United
Fundamental contributed simply 4 targets in 15 video games. He didn’t rating in any respect after March 8 and finally misplaced his place within the group.
His purpose drought grew to become emblematic of how Ayr struggled over the ultimate couple of months of final season – and he has returned for the brand new marketing campaign wanting usually cumbersome and unimpressive.
In all equity, Brown has not been helped by accidents. Captain Ben Dempsey, the beating coronary heart of the Ayr midfield, might be a mid-to-long-term absentee. Key striker Anton Dowds has been lacking since final September after rupturing his cruciate ligament.
Kevin Holt was signed on first rate wages in the summertime and was anticipated to supply expertise in central defence. Damage has sidelined him for the primary two league video games so far.
Nonetheless, Brown’s tactical strategy additionally must be questioned. Occasion the chaos and confusion in defence, when attempting to play out from the again, which led to Raith scoring the opening purpose inside the primary minute final weekend.
Ayr had Kyle Ure and Jude Bonnar of their beginning line-up, two youngsters who had been recruited from the Celtic youth set-up.
These guys are nonetheless younger and really a lot studying their commerce, but they’re being requested to deal with the rigours and calls for of Championship soccer.
Regardless of the monetary backing that has been afforded to him, Brown has not been capable of assemble a squad that’s suited to a tilt at profitable promotion.
Brown holds one other trophy aloft throughout his glory years with the Scottish champions
Ayr really really feel additional away from that ambition now than they did 12 months in the past. They seem like a group who’ve regressed – and Brown is starting to resemble a supervisor who’s struggling to give you the solutions.
Some followers questioned whether or not his coronary heart was actually in it anymore after these feedback in direction of the top of final season.
A visit to face Partick Thistle within the Premier Sports activities Cup on Saturday already feels prefer it might be big for Brown when it comes to injecting some momentum again into Ayr’s season.
He stays below contract till 2027, and the membership clearly need him to guide them again to the Premiership.
However Brown can’t dwell on status ceaselessly. The very fact he was persevering with to be linked with top-flight jobs over the summer season was a nonsense.
His time in control of Fleetwood led to failure. He must buck up his concepts or else his stint at Somerset Park will go the identical manner.
No-one can relight the fireplace in ineffectual Adam Idah
When he spoke within the aftermath of Celtic’s 2-0 win at Aberdeen final Sunday, Brendan Rodgers did his greatest to place an arm spherical Adam Idah.
Describing the misfiring striker as a ‘huge, trustworthy boy’, Rodgers made the argument that the Irishman merely wants further competitors up entrance if he’s to rediscover his greatest kind.
That, after all, was complete nonsense.
Idah shouldn’t want something from anybody else. All the most effective strikers will let you know – the need to carry out and rating targets has to come back from inside.
The arrival of one other new striker earlier than the top of the switch window would solely serve to deepen the pool of gamers obtainable to Rodgers and push Idah additional down the pecking order.
The truth is that Celtic vastly overpaid for Idah after they forked out the center of £9million to signal him from Norwich final summer season.
Brendan Rodgers has claimed he wants a brand new striker to gee up Adam Idah
That’s not the participant’s fault. He didn’t set the price-tag. He wasn’t liable for Celtic failing to insert a clause into his preliminary mortgage deal which might have meant they might purchase him at a lowered value.
However he’s most actually not the principle man for Celtic up entrance. He most likely by no means can be. In actuality, they’ve paid £9m for a man who’s basically a squad participant.
When Kyogo Furuhashi left in January, that ought to have been the inexperienced mild for Idah to kick on and nail down his place as Celtic’s major striker.
Tall, highly effective and fast – he has lots of the uncooked instruments and attributes you’ll need in a striker. However too typically he drifts by way of video games and is ineffectual.
If Celtic do signal one other striker earlier than the top of the window, and absolutely they may, it’s unlikely that it’ll mild a hearth inside Idah, as Rodgers appeared to counsel.
As a substitute, it’ll solely affirm he belongs among the many rank and file of the Celtic squad slightly than being the principle man up entrance.
