North British

The central midfield is the key , bring a strong enough anchor in like Gogic for instance , then you could carry a Crawford or Kelly without the roof falling in . Downgrade the DCM to someone at say Doc’s level and the ACM needs to add tackling to his cv . Again get the midfield sorted out and we can afford to play a second striker . Like the sound of Gillian or somebody of that caliber . Left centre half would be the next priority, with Baird as cover . Can’t think of anyone suitable there . Although Charlie Mulgrew would fit the bill if Dundee United were to punt him .

Pretty much this , though Id have a second new midfielder in Murdoch’s slot .

I’d expect it wouldn’t be too hard to get McAlister out on loan Surely Afolabi will be sent back to Celtic . I’d imagine it’ll be harder to shift McGinty and Salkield . Those would be two that should go if replacements can be found . So a striker , two midfielders and a left centre half to replace .... Hopefully Mathie has these lined up .

So are Mathie and Glendinning running the window prior to the new head coach arriving ? Or are we sitting watching all available players getting snapped up ...

Mathie did . Just saying . Optimistic to the end .

Let’s wait and see what Mathie is capable of .

Another signing that would raise the bar . Both out of contract in May , so they might see playing every week as more important than a bigger club than Ayr at this time .

So would I. This is exactly the type of signing we should be looking at . The four we need have to be in this caliber if we are to move forward with any kind of pace ..

So to boil all the information down . It was a four horse race and everyone’s first choice including mine , Marvin Barkley has been pulled from the race . We’re left with Celtic U18 coach Stephen McManus , Ex Accies manager Martin Canning and a yet to be named mystery candidate . I have to say I’d prefer McManus than Canning . However the mystery guy might trump both of them . Somebody must know who it is ? Also if it was indeed Canning who’s been chosen why not just announce it , it would be a no strings appointment. West coast guy with no job currently. I can see why a guy like McManus , currently employed , might need some strings untangled . McManus and Barkley are similar type candidates, the question would be is the mystery fellow in the rookie camp as well or are we talking about a player ? If he is a player then he couldn’t be announced until the transfer window open’s at midnight tonight ! Just a thought , but I guess we’ll have to wait until Monday now .

This is getting pretty interesting now . You have three clear groups of potential head coaches for our club .The outsiders: older guys who are out of work, usual suspects plus Tommy Wight , pro’s are easy to get , cons are they are unlikely to love the director of football business . The favourites: Murray , Mcfadden , Barkley , Thomson , the pros , bright young things , fresh are bursting with energy . The cons : pretty short cv’s . Then there is the wild cards : guys still playing but wanting to get started in management. The pro’s , we can get a cracking player for a season or so , worked with Burley not so much with Stainrod . The cons : total punt on how they might be in management .

Those are three of my four , I’d add Murray to that . Interestingly though three are from the east coast .

I wonder if Marvin’s work with the Sfa has flung a spanner in the works ! Also couldn’t help notice Kelty Hearts had a form collapse at the weekend . I wonder what may have caused that . Or was it just a bad day at the office .

Barkley did a very odd interview on Sky Sports News yesterday from the pitch at Livingston where he had just taken a training match in which he was pleased his side won . Initially I thought he was tying his colours to Livi’s mast but as the interview went on he talked more of finishing up a manager . Was this is farewell to Livingston . Not sure . What I am sure of is Graeme Mathie . He comes across as an ultra progressive type of guy , he seems to walk the walk as well as talking the talk . His two recent appointments tell a story of where he wants the club to head . He just needs the next couple of appointments over the line and then it’s over to the coaches and the players . We already know that our players are a bit better than the crap they’ve been offering . With four new players we should be up and running . A few have commented that there was no plan ! Guys there was always a plan ! Guys like Smith run their life’s on three, five and ten year plans . I’m guessing things have been brought forward as relegation was just not part of any plan . We look like we are going all in .. There will be road bumps along the way , there may be one tonight at Thistle but the direction of travel is only one way and that is up . So on the 9th February it’s Killie away , unless the FM extends the current measures . So perhaps it’s time for us the fans to put our marker down and show our Chairman and Managing Director and also the new coaching team who the f**k we actually are . Get the tickets bought and make Killie away the fulcrum of our direction change . ps Mathie was astounded that Graeme Speirs tried to compare Ayr United with Hamilton Accies in terms of crowd potential . He laughed out load at that comparison .

I think we’re in good shape with regards a successful bid for James Maxwell . James is only 20 but already a strapping big athlete . His attributes will take him to England eventually, however if he wants to follow in the footsteps of LS , Rose and more relevantly Danny Harvie , then what better a place to start than with us at Ayr . If we can get close to what others are offering and show him that we mean business by bring in others of a similar caliber then why not ? The elephant in the room would be Rangers though . Another deal we need to be would be getting Tomi signed . His goals speak volumes , with better players in shortly he could hit 20 by the end of the season . That puts him in the same bracket as Hurst , who we sold for £175K ......Think about that for a moment ! At last the bigger picture is being revealed . Get the feeling the surprises are just beginning , if so the long suffering fans of our club are in for one hell of a journey .

Of Saturdays starting eleven the obvious up grades in the window would be McGinty , Chalmers and controversially at second striker . Either a baller with goals like Cammy Smith or and out and out battering ram like Innes Cameron . Get those three slots fixed and that might just get us to May .

I wonder if recently removed Morecambe assistant coach John McMahon would be a person of interest in our hunt for and experienced no2 ?

Maxwell is the exact type of player who would generate a substantial transfer fee one day ...

If the game is timed to coincide with both clubs having new managers , window signings etc then the attendance could creep north of 10,000 . A perfect offer for live tv , advertisers and as you said showcasing the Championship in a decent light . But no , no Glasgow bigotry On show nothing to see here ,move on ...

Every dressing room can use a maniac , gets the crown switched on as well . I remember George Dandy McLean being one of those types . Was getting some hands on marking at corners one time , so Dandy pulls of his shirt and hands it to the boy .... Quality ... I’m liking this rumour ......

On the Maxwell debate , as stated earlier if McCall is interested then we should be as well . I’d be making a move for him as next season’s left wing back . With this season in mind for the second half of the season I’d like to go with a 5-3-2 . I know it’s been a disaster in the past but with the right people it can work . Maxwell at LWB , move Paddy across to RWB and sign a footballing centre half to play behind Aero and Baird/0r new signing . Three in the middle would consist of two new midfielders holding and maybe O’Conner advanced behind Tomi and a proper 10 like a Cammy Smith type or the Moff . So that would be four in therefore return Afolabi and Bradley to their clubs and get Salkield , McGinty out the door in what would have to be a salary subsidised move . Might be a good idea to get McKenzie some games elsewhere as well .

Ooft that would do in the number 10 role beside Tomi ....

This is a farce . Let’s just chuck it and go to summer football .

Let’s not procrastinate in the past , Duffy is gone the focus is now on the here and now and the future . The club have taken the first steps in sorting out our current situation. It’s gonna be the craziest window of all time . Its now time for every fan to pull together , we have the job on the 26th to ensure these players know what is expected of somebody that pulls on the black and white shirt . A point against Rovers would be a massive step in the right direction . Then it’s on to Thistle away ....

Don’t all scream at once , but for a completely left field selection how about Tommy Wright ? In terms of getting on board quick and with little complications in negotiations he could be the man to steady things for a couple of seasons . Then in a couple of seasons go for the young up and coming guy once the platform has been built . His win percentage at Killie is 47% which isn’t the worst . He also won the cup in 2014 and had Saints in Europe on a number of occasions . The opposite end of the scale to a Kevin Thomson agreed but you never know ....Just a thought ...

They’ll be training at Cambusdoon in a couple of hours . I wonder .