Aiden McGeady reveals how Scott Brown eased his Celtic reunion fears as he lifts lid on dual Ayr United role

Former Celtic duo reunite at Somerset Park as Brown gets off to winning start at Hampden

Ayr manager Scott Brown with Aiden McGeady during the 2-1 win over Queen's Park at Hampden. (Photo by Sammy Turner / SNS Group)

Aiden McGeady feared friendship might count for nothing when former Celtic teammate Scott Brown was appointed Ayr United manager last week.

McGeady is player-technical manager at Ayr, a dual role that was described as “innovative” when he agreed to drop down to the second tier after being released by Hibs last summer.

The 37-year-old has struggled with injury this season and he was concerned Brown might query this specially-created position as he prepared to make his mark at Somerset Park. At the very least he anticipated Brown telling him to concentrate solely on playing.

After all, this is what happened to Brown when Brendan Rodgers arrived at Celtic in 2016. Rodgers was concerned the midfielder’s coaching duties at the time – Brown was helping with the Under-20s – were compromising his on-field performances and ordered him to stop. Brown and Rodgers went on to re-write the record books together at Parkhead.

McGeady admits Brown was curious about the exact nature of his role at Ayr when he and assistant Steven Whittaker arrived. “I’ve got a dual role and he was a bit unsure of what that looked like,” revealed McGeady. “I explained I’ve been doing some coaching with some of the younger reserve players.

“I told him if there is anything he wants me to do, I’m here to support him. Straight away, he asked me to take half a dozen players for a shooting session which I was more than happy to do.

“He also asked me for some input with set pieces. So he involved me right away, which was good because you are never sure of what will happen when a new manager comes in. I think it will be very positive for me.

“He might have just wanted me as a player but he is happy for me to carry on the other roles I’ve been doing and even help and support him a bit more.”

The new management team, McGeady included, got off to a positive start on Saturday with a 2-1 over Queen’s Park at Hampden. A free-kick from Jamie Murphy gave the Brown era lift-off and although the hosts equalised through Ruari Paton midway through the second half, a red card for midfielder Sean Welsh two minutes later severely hampered Queen’s Park’s chances of taking anything from the game.

Mark McKenzie’s 74th minute header earned Ayr all three points and lifted them into sixth place before this weekend’s home clash against Dundee United, when Brown will be introduced to the Somerset Park crowd.

McGeady came on with 15 minutes left against Queen's Park and very nearly scored in the dying moments with a deft dink. He is determined to continue contributing under Brown.

“I scored a couple of goals in December before I got injured,” he said. “It’s been a bit stop-start for me with injuries. I’m lacking match fitness and sharpness but I definitely feel I still have something to offer as a player. I wouldn’t be doing it otherwise.

“We had a good support at Hampden and they responded well to Scott. The manager is a bit of a name and he brings extra publicity to the team. Hopefully that brings more fans in if we keep winning and climbing the table.

“We are looking to win every game we play. Dundee United have the biggest budget in the league, so they should be up there. But if we get everything right and play the way we can, there’s no reason why we can’t beat them.”