Celtic hero Brown exits Ayr United after poor run
Steven Whittaker and Scott Brown (right) have both exited Ayr United
- Published
Former Celtic and Scotland captain Scott Brown has stood down as Ayr United manager "by mutual consent", the Scottish Championship club has announced.
The 40-year-old exits Somerset Park along with assistant Steven Whittaker, the former Rangers and Scotland defender, after a run of nine games without a victory.
Ayr slipped to sixth in Scotland's second tier after Friday's 3-0 defeat by Raith Rovers, a result that meant their hosts leapfrogged Brown's side into fifth.
The Honest Men have dropped out of the promotion play-off places and trail five points behind fourth-placed Dunfermline Athletic, who also have a game in hand.
Watch highlights from Ayr's final game with Scott Brown in charge
Brown took charge of Ayr in January 2024 and lifted them clear of relegation trouble before a third-place finish in his first full season in charge, but the momentum has shifted in the opposite direction in recent weeks.
Capped 55 times for his country and winning 22 major trophies with Celtic, he started his coaching career as player-coach with Aberdeen after leaving the Glasgow club in the summer of 2021.
Brown had a spell in charge of Fleetwood Town, but after a 13th-place finish in his debut season with the League One club, he was sacked in September 2023 after a poor start to his second campaign.
Veteran winger Jamie Murphy, along with first-team coach Tommy Tait and goalkeeper coach Dave Timmins, have taken Ayr training before "further communication regarding an interim position in due course".
