For Jim and Ayr, it felt like winning the European Cup
It’s the business end of the season – a time when silverware or survival takes priority.
Tommy Wright will certainly have achieved his first aim as Kilmarnock manager if he can keep them in the SPFL Premiership.
45 years ago, it was another Ayrshire club battling for survival.
And, back then, it was a bigger task facing Ayr United. There was no safety net of a relegation play-off in the 10-team Premier Division.
The sides finishing in the bottom two went straight down.
With three games to go, the Honest Men were really up against it. They faced Celtic home and away, followed by a final game against Motherwell at home.
At least two victories out of three were needed to guarantee their safety.
As former Ayr United midfielder Jim McSherry recalls, there’s rarely been a more tension-filled end to the season.
He said: “We beat Celtic 2-1 at Parkhead. Malky Robertson scored twice, one a penalty awarded by referee MacKenzie from Larbert.
“We then lost 5-3 at home, despite being 3-1 ahead at the start of the second half.
“That meant we had to beat Motherwell at Somerset Park 48 hours later to stay up.
“It was the first season of the 10-team top division, and for us to be part of that had been a major achievement. We were desperate to stay there.
“Two good friends of mine were in charge of Motherwell. Willie McLean was manager and Craig Brown was his assistant.
“They had nothing to play for, but came at us like demons and Pat Gardner put them ahead.
“Referee MacKenzie awarded us another penalty, but Malky Robertson missed this one.
“We only had 15 minutes to save our skins when Davie McCulloch got an equaliser.
“Then Alex Ingram headed across goal, I hooked the ball back and Gerry Phillips bundled it over the line.
“We had our hearts in our mouths when we noticed the linesman was flagging. He seemed to think Gerry had handled.
“The minute it took for the referee to discuss it was the longest of my football career. “What a relief when he said the goal stood. “There was a pitch invasion at full-time, and we had to come back out to wave to the fans.
“It felt like we’d won the European Cup. “Alex Stuart had done a good job keeping us up. He’d taken over as manager from Ally MacLeod, and that was a hard act to follow.”
Dundee and Dundee United fought out the relegation issue, with the Dark Blues going down on goal difference.
Jim is one of the few people who seems to have successfully crossed the great Ayrshire divide and survived.
His career got underway with Kilmarnock in 1970 before he spent seven seasons with Ayr.
He was later back at Killie as assistant manager, and then commercial manager.
These days, he runs the Wee Windaes pub in Ayr, where football personalities are regular visitors.
It might have been different if he’d gone to England as a teenager.
He said: “I was at Burnley for a week’s trial. I’d been taken there by a scout, Jimmy Stein, who scored Everton’s first-ever goal at Wembley.
“I then played a trial game for Kilmarnock at Dundee, and was signed immediately.
“My debut came in a 1-1 draw against Ayr. “Our substitute, Ross Mathie, was hauled over the perimeter wall and into the crowd when he went to get the ball for a throw in.”
Jim was later player-manager of Berwick Rangers, and also played for Stirling Albion.
In between, he spent a season in Cyprus with Pezoporikos, where Willie McLean was boss.
Memories of that great escape in 1976, not surprisingly, include the drinks flowing at an after-match celebration.
There was clearly no lasting damage. Two days later there really was a trophy to lift.
They beat Kilmarnock to land the Ayrshire Cup.