# 2023–24 Ayr United F.C. season

The 2023–24 season was Ayr United's sixth consecutive season in the Scottish Championship after being promoted from league one in the 2017–18 season. Ayr also competed in the, League Cup, Challenge Cup and the Scottish Cup.

## Summary
### Season

Lee Bullen takes charge of Ayr United for the second season in a row following their defeat to Partick Thistle in the semi-final of the Premiership play-off.
On 21 July, the club announced the singing of veteran winger Aiden McGeady on a two-year contract to serve as both a member of the playing squad and the club's technical manager.
On 15 January, manager Lee Bullen was sacked following a run of poor results. He was replaced by former Celtic captain Scott Brown.

## Results and fixtures

Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed

### Scottish Cup
## Squad statistics
### Appearances

    As of 3 May 2024
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Championship | Championship | League Cup | League Cup | Challenge Cup | Challenge Cup | Scottish Cup | Scottish Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| 1 | GK | ENG | Charlie Albinson | 22 | 0 | 17+1 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | SCO | Nick McAllister | 31 | 2 | 24+0 | 1 | 3+0 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | SCO | Patrick Reading | 32 | 0 | 24+0 | 0 | 4+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | ZAM | Frankie Musonda | 22 | 1 | 18+2 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | IRL | Sean McGinty | 41 | 3 | 31+1 | 2 | 5+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | SCO | Andy Murdoch | 4 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Ben Dempsey | 29 | 4 | 22+0 | 3 | 4+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | ENG | Kurt Willoughby | 13 | 3 | 4+8 | 3 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 10 | MF | IRL | Aiden McGeady | 19 | 2 | 6+10 | 2 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 11 | FW | SCO | Logan Chalmers | 31 | 9 | 23+4 | 9 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 14 | DF | NZL | George Stanger | 34 | 3 | 26+0 | 2 | 5+0 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 2+0 | 0 |
| 15 | FW | SCO | Jamie Murphy | 39 | 7 | 29+3 | 6 | 4+0 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | SCO | Anton Dowds | 31 | 13 | 28+0 | 13 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 |
| 17 | FW | ENG | Franny Amartey | 34 | 1 | 8+20 | 1 | 4+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 18 | MF | SCO | Paul Smith | 21 | 0 | 4+11 | 0 | 3+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | ALB | Roy Syla | 29 | 2 | 20+5 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 1 |
| 21 | MF | ENG | Harry McHugh | 12 | 1 | 10+2 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 22 | FW | SCO | Mark McKenzie | 40 | 4 | 24+7 | 2 | 5+0 | 1 | 0+1 | 0 | 1+2 | 1 |
| 23 | DF | ENG | Jack Sanders | 14 | 1 | 12+2 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | SCO | Scott Tomlinson | 18 | 0 | 2+10 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 25 | DF | ENG | Nathan McGinley | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 27 | FW | SCO | Max Guthrie | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 29 | FW | SCO | Lucas McRoberts | 4 | 1 | 0+4 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | SCO | Fraser Bryden | 36 | 5 | 11+16 | 1 | 3+2 | 3 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+3 | 1 |
| 31 | GK | SCO | Robbie Mutch | 12 | 0 | 7+0 | 0 | 3+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 |
| 38 | GK | NIR | Josh Clarke | 12 | 0 | 12+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 32 | MF | SCO | Dylan Watret | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| Players who left the club during the 2023–24 season ||||||||||
| 9 | FW | JAM | Ahkeem Rose | 23 | 5 | 8+11 | 3 | 1+1 | 1 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 1 |
| 16 | MF | ENG | Oliver Pendlebury | 6 | 2 | 0+2 | 1 | 2+2 | 1 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 19 | GK | SCO | Ollie Ecrepont | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 20 | MF | SCO | Michael Hewitt | 2 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | SCO | Finn Ecrepont | 8 | 0 | 0+3 | 0 | 1+2 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | ENG | Sam Ashford | 6 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | BEL | Jack Senga | 11 | 0 | 5+5 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 29 | MF | COD | David Bangala | 1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 33 | MF | SCO | Carter Jenkins | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 34 | FW | SCO | Dario Viviani | 0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 |
| 38 | DF | ENG | Elicha Ahui | 14 | 0 | 9+3 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 46 | MF | ENG | Jack Young | 19 | 0 | 11+6 | 0 | 0+0 | 0 | 1+0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |

## Team statistics
### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion, qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Greenock Morton | 36 | 12 | 9 | 15 | 43 | 46 | −3 | 45 | |
| 6 | Dunfermline Athletic | 36 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 45 | |
| 7 | Ayr United | 36 | 12 | 8 | 16 | 53 | 61 | −8 | 44 | |
| 8 | Queen's Park | 36 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 50 | 56 | −6 | 43 | |
| 9 | Inverness Caledonian Thistle (R) | 36 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 41 | 40 | +1 | 42 | Qualification for the Championship play-offs |

### League Cup table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | AYR | STI | STJ | STE | ALL |
| 1 | Ayr United | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | +8 | 11 | Qualification for the second round | — | — | — | 1–0 | 6–0 |
| 2 | Stirling Albion | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 10 | Qualification for the second round | 1–1p | — | — | 2–1 | — |
| 3 | St Johnstone | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 3 | | 1–2 | 0–4 | — | — | — |
| 4 | Stenhousemuir | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 3 | | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–3 |
| 5 | Alloa Athletic | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 13 | −9 | 3 | | — | 1–2 | 0–4 | — | — |

## Transfers
### Transfers in

| Date | Position | Name | From | Fee |
| 5 June 2023 | GK | Robbie Mutch | Edinburgh City | Free transfer |
| 6 June 2023 | DF | George Stanger | Alloa Athletic | Free transfer |
| 19 June 2023 | FW | Jamie Murphy | St Johnstone | Free transfer |
| 24 June 2023 | FW | Franny Amartey | Aldershot Town | Free transfer |
| 24 June 2023 | MF | Oliver Pendlebury | Aldershot Town | Free transfer |
| 21 July 2023 | MF | Aiden McGeady | Hibernian | Free transfer |
| 24 July 2023 | FW | Ahkeem Rose | Weymouth | Free transfer |
| 29 August 2023 | MF | Roy Syla | Brentford | Free transfer |
| 1 March 2024 | DF | Nathan McGinley | Motherwell | Free transfer |

### Transfers out

| Date | Position | Name | To | Fee |
| 31 May 2023 | DF | Kinlay Bilham | Stenhousemuir | Free transfer |
| 31 May 2023 | DF | Jordan Houston | Queen of the South | Free transfer |
| 31 May 2023 | DF | Alex Jeanes | | Free transfer |
| 31 May 2023 | FW | Chris Maguire | Eastleigh | Free transfer |
| 31 May 2023 | GK | Aidan McAdams | Edinburgh City | Free transfer |
| 31 May 2023 | MF | Josh Mullin | Raith Rovers | Free transfer |
| 24 June 2023 | MF | Daire O'Connor | Glentoran | Free transfer |
| 14 July 2023 | MF | Jayden Mitchell-Lawson | Maidenhead United | Free transfer |
| 15 July 2023 | FW | Dipo Akinyemi | York City | Undisclosed |
| 4 August 2023 | MF | Michael Hewitt | Hamilton Academical | Free transfer |
| 8 August 2023 | MF | David Bangala | | Free transfer |
| 23 August 2023 | FW | Sam Ashford | Cliftonville | Free transfer |
| 30 August 2023 | MF | Oliver Pendlebury | Farnborough | Free transfer |
| 5 January 2024 | DF | Finn Ecrepont | Stranraer | Free transfer |

### Loans in

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 4 August 2023 | DF | Elicha Ahui | Lincoln City | 1 February 2024 |
| 19 August 2023 | FW | Logan Chalmers | Dundee United | 31 May 2024 |
| 25 August 2023 | MF | Jack Young | Wycombe Wanderers | 16 January 2024 |
| 1 September 2023 | MF | Jack Senga | Reading | 22 January 2024 |
| 12 September 2023 | FW | Anton Dowds | Partick Thistle | 31 May 2024 |
| 26 January 2024 | DF | Jack Sanders | Kilmarnock | 31 May 2024 |
| 1 February 2024 | MF | Harry McHugh | Wigan Athletic | 31 May 2024 |
| 1 February 2024 | FW | Kurt Willoughby | Oldham Athletic | 31 May 2024 |
| 24 February 2024 | GK | Josh Clarke | Celtic | 31 May 2024 |

### Loans out

| Date | Position | Name | From | End date |
| 13 July 2023 | DF | Lyall Holding | Glenafton Athletic | 31 May 2024 |
| 25 July 2023 | MF | Carter Jenkins | Gretna 2008 | 31 May 2024 |
| 25 July 2023 | FW | Dario Viviani | Gretna 2008 | 31 May 2024 |
| 3 August 2023 | GK | Derren Fairns | Dalry Thistle | 31 May 2024 |
| 13 January 2024 | GK | Ollie Ecrepont | East Stirlingshire | 31 May 2024 |
| 1 February 2024 | FW | Ahkeem Rose | Hamilton Academical | 31 May 2024 |