SCOTT Brown hailed the backing of his chairman after agreeing a new deal at Ayr United.
The boss has extended his stay in the Somerset dugout until 2027 after a week which saw him courted by Premiership St Johnstone over their managerial vacancy.
But Brown and his assistant Steven Whittaker have chosen to stay focused on the bid to lead Ayr United’s Championship charge. The highly regarded duo inked a 12 month extension to their deal last night, giving Ayr a massive boost ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Morton.
Brown told Ayr United TV: “It’s been a difficult week for everyone and there are always going to be rumours floating around – it’s part and parcel of football when you are doing well.
“It was brilliant of the chairman and the board to offer myself and Steven a new deal, so they are stuck with us for another year!
“It gives us that extra bit of faith in terms of the chairman, the fans and ourselves in terms of how we’ve been bonding. We’re in a good place at this moment in time. That’s due to the chairman but also myself and Steven coming in and how well the lads have worked on behalf of what we’ve wanted. We’re a young squad and there will be ups and downs but I’ve really enjoyed my time here.
“Everything is in a positive place and we need to try every day to make sure each individual player gets better with every day. We work very hard on every player knowing their job.”
Ayr remain unbeaten in the league but have drawn their last three and Brown wants a return to winning ways tomorrow.
He added: “We’ve had a really good start to the season – but we want to get back to winning ways starting with Morton. We’re dealing with a lot of injuries at the moment and it’s not just small things. It’s cruciates and broken bones and it’s been hard to deal with. But that’s part and parcel of a season and you get those speed bumps that set you back.
“But we hopefully have the squad now and the bodies who can come in and take their chance. I say to everyone all the time – you’re only as good as your last game and places are always up for grabs.”