Scott Brown in Rangers confession as Celtic legend says 'they were never going to play their second team against ME'

Ayr United manager Scott Brown

Scott Brown reckons Rangers were extra motivated to shoot down Ayr United in the Scottish Cup – because it was him in the dugout.

The Celtic legend has been in the Ayr United job for a month now and has made a positive impact. He’s won two of his three games to fire the Honest Men back into playoff contention at the right end of the league, losing only to leaders Dundee United at home. The other blotch on his record, though it can hardly be held against him, was their 2-0 Scottish Cup defeat at Ibrox.

The draw had already been made when Brown took the job in late January and from a narrative standpoint, it was teed up nicely for him to return to the home of his old rivals so early on in his first SPFL managerial stint. His side showed up well but lost out in the end, Borna Barisic scoring early on before Fabio Silva sealed it 12 minutes from time.

Former Fleetwood boss Brown says he thought from the minute he saw the tie in the diary that it would be a strong Rangers team sent out by Philippe Clement. And when the side was announced, with skipper James Tavernier and vice captain Connor Goldson in a partially rotated lineup, he wasn’t especially surprised.

The disparity in options was highlighted as the game wore on, Clement turning to the likes of John Lundstram and Todd Cantwell while Brown looked to academy kids like Scott Tomlinson, Fraser Bryden and Max Guthrie. Brown told the Celtic State of Mind podcast: “You get the job and it was already in the works, the draw had been made. You’re going to Ibrox. It made the club a lot of money, it was great for the budget. But I’m sitting there thinking ‘Yep. I’m sure they’re not going to play their second team against me.’

“As they did, they played their strongest team. But the lads competed well and defended well, we were in the game for 78 minutes until they scored their second goal. You had to be proud of the lads, some of them had never played at Ibrox, and you can see the difference.

“But Rangers were bringing on players on 30k, 40k per week. We brought on a young kid at 17 for his debut. We actually brought on two 17-year-olds, whereas they brought on Lundstram and somebody else. It shows you the levels.”

Brown is no stranger to Ibrox having lined up against Rangers countless times while playing for Hibs, Celtic and latterly Aberdeen. The dugout was a new experience but being there took Brown back to his last ever professional goal – a diving header against Gers to put his team 2-0 up in the first half.

Brown, naturally, celebrated wildly…admitting he might have reined it in if he knew Rangers would come back to draw the game 2-2. He said: “I enjoyed the last one, it was the last ever goal I scored if I’m honest. The diving header at Ibrox. I think I maybe celebrated a bit prematurely, but I enjoyed it.”