By Paul Cooper

After years of underperforming local side Ayr United currently find themselves defying all odds in an unusual position at the top the Scottish Championship.

After spending last season staving off relegation, massive changes behind the scenes look to be the catalyst for the change of fortunes along at ‘San’ Somerset Park.  

The fact that the team are a point clear at the top of the division after 5 games, has also generated a feel-good factor amongst the supporters and the town.

Commercial manager for the club Martin Tocker said: “The structure of a football club contributes to what happens on a Saturday.

“The infrastructure changes at the club over the last few years have really helped put us on a better footing.

“We’ve got the hub, club shop and the supporters bar Camerons and these things on their own are huge for us . The fact that the shop is facing the front rather than the back, the revenue has almost tripled, we’ve added an online option as well.

“This year we’ve obviously added the North stand and the hospitality suite, and having a hospitality suite the size we’ve got (160 people upwards) is a huge revenue stream for the club.”

Martin was also quick to talk about the impact the new management team Scott Brown and Assistant Steven Whittaker have had on the place.

He said: “Scott and Steven have been at Somerset for almost 8 months, with the careers they’ve both had they obviously command a lot of respect in the dressing room.

“It’s clear how driven they are to succeed, they work extremely hard, first in, last out.”

In a small town like Ayr, the success of the main football team can make a massive difference in local communities.

Community Manager Shaun Ferrie said: “When the team’s winning games of football everyone in the community’s got a buzz about them, they all want to know what’s going on, numbers are good for programmes, numbers are good for people visiting the club, so it’s a real knock-on effect.

“If the teams doing well on the pitch everything happening round about is a lot easier to do”.