Ayr chief tells Rangers fans they’ll bankroll Scott Brown’s January transfer splurge

Beaming Ayr United chairman David Smith welcomed Scott Brown to Somerset Park yesterday - then admitted a bumper Ibrox pay day will fund the Celtic legend’s bid to avoid relegation.

Nine in a row Parkhead skipper Brown has signed a two and half year deal to take charge of the Championship strugglers as he takes his next step in management after being sacked from his first job at Fleetwood Town earlier this season.

Smith opted to pull the plug on previous boss Lee Bullen after a run of bad results sucked the club into a dog fight at the wrong end of the division. Now Brown has taken on the challenge of keeping them up - with former Rangers rival Steven Whittaker as his right hand man in the dugout.

And Smith says the promise of a huge cheque from next month’s Scottish Cup fifth round tie against Philippe Clement’s side will help fund Brown’s first moves in the January transfer market.

He said: “Yes. Absolutely. We’ll need to sit down with them as they have just got their feet under the table but we will make some finances available to them for some January business. We already discussed that among a few things.”

When the irony was put to Smith of Brown’s spending plans being bankrolled by the Rangers home support he smiled: “Happy days!”

Brown, though, was a great deal more reticent when asked for his own thoughts on the trip to face his old rivals - which will come only three games into the job. But he too admitted that the cup cash could prove invaluable.

The 38-year-old said: “The cup draw is huge. Budgets are tight so to get that cash flow is exceptional for the club. Whether it was Hearts, Hibs, Rangers or Celtic, it’s a good start for us because you know you have that backing. We’ll be battering our contacts now.