Scott Brown outlines Ayr United vision as Celtic legend reveals the 2 questions he asked himself after Fleetwood axe

It was blowing a gale outside, albeit not quite with the force of the previous few days. And in any case, doesn’t it always?

A couple of broadcast trucks had pitched up in the car park outside Ayr United’s rickety old main stand. And a few more staff were milling around than might usually have been the case at 11am on a bleak, grey Tuesday. But, behind the scenes, this was far from any other average Ayrshire. This was the day Scott Brown arrived at Somerset Park and, for both parties, life may never feel quite the same again. One way or another.

For Brown and sidekick Steven Whittaker, the decision to sign on for the next two-and-a-half years for a club which is hovering too close to comfort above relegation from Scotland’s Championship, their arrival represents an early crossroads in the next step of their coaching careers. Make a success of it here, in the stadium that time long since forgot, and Brown can begin climbing the managerial ladder, just as he did when he still had his boots on as a player.

And yet, following 18 months of ups and downs in their first gig together at Fleetwood Town, Brown and Whittaker are smart enough to know that the opposite could also prove to be true in the long run. They may not exactly have walked into the last chance saloon. They have the advantage of having plenty of time on their side after all. But, even so, this does feel like somewhere close. And, after spending much of the last six months following their sacking from Fleetwood, looking in from the outside and wondering where the next offer might come from, there is a sense that they may have arrived in exactly the right place and at exactly the right moment in time.

“You do start to get itchy feet after a while," Brown nodded as