Celtic legend Scott Brown has surprisingly been appointed as the manager of Scottish second-tier outfit Ayr United a month after he reportedly threw his name into the frame for the Sunderland job.
The chorus of boos which rang out at the Stadium of Light last week – Sunderland going down 1-0 at home to Hull City – certainly brought an end to any so-called ‘honeymoon period’ Mick Beale might have hoped to be afforded on Wearside. This, in truth, feels like a ‘marriage of convenience’ already destined for an early divorce.
Just five weeks and seven games into his Black Cats career, pressure is growing on Beale already. The former Rangers and QPR boss hardly arrived amid a flurry of excitement – his appointment seen as rather unambitious and lacking in imagination – and a pretty dreadful run of results has done little to quell the nagging feeling that Sunderland have taken a big step in the wrong direction since the rather harsh sacking of Tony Mowbray.
Scott Brown reportedly wanted to be Sunderland manager
Sunderland, according to iNews, had initially planned to bring in a young, forward-thinking tactician from the continent after moving on from Mowbray. Will Still, the extremely highly-rated 31-year-old Reims boss, held talks with Black Cats owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus. There was also interest in Kim Hellberg, who led an unfancied Varnamo outfit to their best-ever finish in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
Scott Brown, following his departure from Fleetwood United at the start of the current campaign, threw his name into the frame too, according to the Daily Record, though Sunderland appeared to have little interest in offering the former Celtic skipper the chance to take over from his ex-Hoops boss Mowbray.
Brown has since taken over at Ayr United in the Scottish Championship, tasked with taking the club to the top-flight after last season’s second-place finish.
Celtic hero takes over at Ayr United
“I see the club as a bit of a sleeping giant,” Brown tells the Ayrshire Post, via the Daily Record, of a club who were a regular alongside Celtic, Rangers and co in the top-flight at one point. “They’ve definitely under-achieved this season.
“So, first and foremost, we want to come in and get things moving in the right direction again and that means getting our own ideas across.
“People may have a perception of me from my playing days but I’d like to think I offer something else as a manager as well.
“Yes, I’m a winner and I will always have that mentality but there is the bigger picture as well in management and that’s where Steven is great for me in this role.”
Sunderland, meanwhile, face Stoke City at home next time out. HITC Football also understands that Mowbray, now at Birmingham City, is launching a January raid of his old employers. Sunderland playmaker Alex Pritchard is in talks to join The Blues.
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