Ayr United will survive relegation says Lachlan Cameron

May 7 2010 by Mike WIlson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

RELEGATION is a horrible feeling but Ayr United will survive.

That’s the message from chairman Lachlan Cameron who confirmed the club will operate with a reduced budget in the Second Division.

However, it will not spell the end of full-time football but there will be more chances for youngsters from the club’s youth academy.

Manager Brian Reid will continue on a full-time deal but higher earning players will be on their way.

Cameron insists the club is in a better position to move forward than it was when Reid first took the helm in 2007.

He said: “We have always tried to play good football and win with style but you have to give credit to Airdrie for putting together a great run.

“We are now tweaking the figures for next season’s budget but it will be lower.

“It will be the end of full-time contracts for the higher earners but we will still have full-time training available for those who are willing not to get paid as much but want to stay full-time.

“We will still have a full-time manager as the role is the most important at the club.

“He will be able to spend more time with the youths and their coaches.

“I would envisage the youth academy being utilised more. It’s possible that some youngsters may be thrown in at the deep end and given their chance sooner rather than being blooded in slowly.

“We had four Academy kids on the bench at Morton by necessity but it was good that we had them.”

Cameron quashed fears that the club’s position has been left perilous by relegation.

He insisted: “The most important thing is that the club is still here and gets on a more stable footing. The team needs all the money it can get but the club needs to watch its finances and strike a balance.

“We failed in the last month of the season and fell at the final hurdle. We didn’t have the budget to get us through that period.

“It’s no wonder that ourselves and Airdrie finished ninth and tenth because we had the smallest budgets.

“We didn’t have the crowds, money wasn’t exactly pouring in from sponsors and there was no trickle down of money from the SPL.

“Relegation is a horrible feeling but it’s not the end of the world. There will still be an Ayr United and we are ready to fight another year.

“We are in a much better position than we were when Brian took over and our tax debt has been paid off.

“When Brian arrived, we were heading towards relegation from the Second Division but he got us playing football and won promotion.”

The chairman confirmed that a deal had been struck to sell part of the Somerset Park car park but stressed it was part of the drive to take the club to a new home at Heathfield.

He insisted: “Any deal with any land is all going towards the completion of the Heathfield project and ties in a buyer with an option deal.

“It is a way of bringing someone on board to facilitate the purchase of Heathfield. It is certainly not asset stripping.

“It is a way of them showing their commitment to us. Things are very positive.”