We’re in for a belter... don’t give Shanks any pelters
Ian McCall wants fans to give Lawrence Shankland a hero’s welcome on his return to Somerset Park this Saturday.
But the boss insists sending the goal king home empty- handed is his top priority. Ayr lock horns with unbeaten Dundee United, with the highly anticipated return of Shankland set to dominate the build- up.
McCall said: “In all my time in football, I’ve never seen a relationship between a player and supporters like Lawrence enjoyed with us.
“So I hope that both he and Liam Smith receive a very good reception from our fans.
“If we could offer up the big money, these boys might have stayed because I know much they loved it here.
“So they deserve respect for what they achieved with us – but obviously our only focus is what we do and winning the game.”
Ayr are beset by injury problems and will be without Jamie Adams, Craig McGuffie, Frank Ross, Craig Moore and Andy Murdoch. McCall was also crossing his fingers for the unscathed return of international trio Ross Doohan, Daniel Harvie and Stephen Kelly.
The boss said: “I’ve been happy with the balance of the side so far and, even without a huge number of players, we played pretty well at Wrexham.
“Given the calibre of boys we lost in the summer, I’m delighted to go into Saturday’s game as a top- of- the- table clash.
“We’re seeing great progression from the likes of Alan Forrest and Luke McCowan and there’s a lot to be positive about.”
McCall, meanwhile, was glowing in his praise of the 421 Ayr supporters who make the trek to North Wales for the Challenge Cup tie. Now he wants more of the same noise at Somerset on Saturday.
He said: “The supporters were incredible and now we need the same kind of vocal backing at Somerset. There’s no place like the Somerset Road End when it comes alive and if we could get that place rocking on Saturday it would be a huge advantage.”