WE’LL BE FLOATING ON HOT AYR
UNDER-21S SOMERSET SPARK GROUP 4
LIAM SMITH is hoping to transfer his club form on to the international stage when Scotland Under-21s tackle Ukraine on Firday.
Scot Gemmill’s men are looking to build on victories over Andorra and Holland and right-back Smith is convinced that winning becomes a habit.
And he has to look no further than his own shock troops Ayr to prove it.
Smith believes the Honest Men can live the dream in the Championship by taking a leaf out of Livingston’s book and winning back-to-back promotions. But those ambitions will be put on the BY GORDON PARKS back burner until games against Ukraine and England are taken care of and the Scots’ European Championship hopes are decided.
He said: “To go away to Holland and win the way we did, we now know we could do that to any team.
“We’re going into these games with confidence and hopefully we can do what we did last time.
“We know what we need to do, we’ll have a game plan and implement it.”
The Somerset Park full-back is having the time of his life after leaving Hearts for Ayr and is convinced his side can make a mockery of their 100-1 pre-season title odds, using Livingston as their inspiration. Livi’s top-flight
P ENGLAND ................. 8 UKRAINE .................. 8 SCOTLAND ............... 8 HOLLAND ................. 8 LATVIA ..................... 8 ANDORRA ................ 8 W 6 4 4 3 0 0 D 2 2 2 3 3 2 entry came via the play-offs despite coming up from League One and Smith insists Ayr’s position at the second-tier summit is proof of their credentials.
He said: “Livingston did it last year. They came up and no one expected it. They’ve done it again this year so far in the Premiership.
“There’s nothing different about us. We play good football. It’s early days so the next quarter of the season might see teams getting used to how we play and making it more difficult, especially if we’re doing so well.
“Teams will be out to stop us but that’s another thing which helps Ayr. We are used to being in that position because of last year.
“It’s a different ball game in the league above but we’ve taken it in our stride. We can only continue our form and see where it takes us.”
The former Hearts kid is no stranger to being part of a title-winning side having L 0 2 2 2 5 6 F 14 15 12 15 5 1 A 4 8 8 6 15 21 PTS 20 14 14 12 3 2 spent last season on loan from the Jambos with St Mirren.
And he’s adamant there’s similarities between Ayr and the squad assembled by Jack Ross in Paisley.
He said: “Our working week is pretty similar to St Mirren last season. If we continue doing what we’re doing we’ll see where it takes us.
“Individually, the quality at Ayr is similar to St Mirren. Two or three are individually very good footballers. We are all hard-working and determined to do well but Ayr have taken momentum from winning the league last year.
“I realised how tough it was to win this league with St Mirren. When you get to the top you need to stay there and it’s not easy.”
The 22-year-old severed his ties with the Jambos this summer when he made a permanent move to Ian McCall’s side. And he reckons that Ayr’s two point lead at the top has vindicated his decision to commit to the Honest Men.
He said: “After playing every week for St Mirren last year, I knew I had to go and do that again this season.
“I couldn’t go back to playing here and there.
“So far, my decision has been vindicated. I’m playing in a team that is pushing for a good position in the league.
“There is that bit of expectation where you’re going into games and the fans expect you to do something.
“You see how well Hearts are doing. It would have been hard for me to get into that team. So my decision to leave has been justified already.”
LIAM SMITH