Ayr United skipper Mark Roberts looks forward to League Cup semi against Kilmarnock

Nov 4 2011 by Mike WIlson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

THEY wouldn’t play us for the Ayrshire Cup.

But now bitter rivals Kilmarnock will have to take on Ayr in a League Cup semi-final.

And United skipper Mark Roberts, who lives in Killie, says the countdown has already started.

All roads will lead to the showdown clash on the weekend of January 28 and 29.

Ayr are desperate for the tie to be played at Hampden. But the Scottish League fear the crowd will be under 20,000 and are reluctant to use the national stadium.

Killie are suggesting a 160 mile round trip to Edinburgh.

Boss Brian Reid knows Ayr will be huge underdogs but warned: “Underestimate us at your peril.”

Roberts, who spent the first eight years of his career at Rugby Park, laughs: “I’m going to have to get myself a crash helmet.

“It’s going to be hard walking my dog through the streets – I’ve already had a few threats!”

Roberts, 35, says the six figure pay day will save Ayr’s season. And with a place in the final worth around £250,000, the club will never have a bigger incentive.

He said: “I’ve been playing for 20 years but the buzz around this tie will be something else. It’s the tie we craved – we wanted to avoid Celtic.

“It will be a massive game and excite the whole of Ayrshire.

“However, our main priority is the league. We don’t want to be going into a semi-final fighting a relegation battle.

“But we showed we are on the road to recovery with our win at Hamilton.”

Reid hopes the tie will be played at Hampden and reckons league officials areseriously underestimating the appeal of the game.

He said: “I have heard people talking about a 15,000 crowd but I think it could be more than 20,000.

“I would be disappointed if there were only 13,000 or 14,000 there.

“When was the last time Ayr playedKilmarnock in a national semi-final?”

Reid attended Tuesday afternoon’s draw with Falkirk boss Steven Pressley. And the two joked beforehand that they would avoid each other.

Reid quipped: “I think the hot balls came out together. I wanted anyone but Celtic.

“We are only one game away from a final and what an opportunity. We will go there as big underdogs but we said that before when we beat three SPL clubs.

“Kilmarnock will be aware of that but this will be a totally different kettle of fish.

“They will be thinking we are a part-time club but they will underestimate us at our peril.”

Meanwhile, Reid has ended his interest in former Ayr favourite Tam McManus who played as a trialist in a 5-0 reserve defeat by Queen of the South.

And an imminent deal for former Hamilton defender David Elebert, who has been training at Somerset, has cooled after he tweaked his hamstring.

Reid says: “As a priority I must bring in defensive cover. I need a centre-half because with Martyn Campbell out until the end of the year, we will be in trouble if we get another injury.

“We need a couple of players to boost numbers to take us to January but it is not proving easy.

“The problem is a lot of SPL clubs are working with smaller squads and a lot of the frees are not what I am looking for.

“I lost out on Maurice Ross and Mark Fotheringham who are supposedly playing at Livingston for nothing.

“Ross played a bounce game for us while I had been hoping to speak to Fotheringham.