Premier Sports Cup draw sees Ayr United set for clash with St Mirren as group stage revealed
The Honest Men will test themselves against the Saints as part of their group campaign.
Ayr have learned their Premier Sports Cup fate this lunchtime after being drawn in Group D of the new season's first competition.
Scott Brown's side will tackle Premiership opposition in the shape of St Mirren, who enjoyed an excellent season to finish inside the top six under Steven Robinson.
The Honest Men will also face newly promoted Arbroath after the Red Lichties won promotion back to the Championship following a great season at Gayfield.
United's group is completed by League Two sides Annan Athletic and Forfar.
The group stage will kick off on the weekend of July 12 and run through until the end of the month before the curtain is raised on the new league season.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Belfast Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Linfield and Dungannon Swifts to kick off new season as Charity Shield date confirmed
The annual curtain-raiser, which sees the Premiership champions face the winners of the Irish Cup, will be played at Windsor Park with a 7:45pm kick-off.
Daily Record
38 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Deluded Rangers fans are stuck in the past and here's why I'm staggered by their reaction to Russell Martin
Russell Martin has barely got his feet under the desk at Ibrox – yet even his choice of FOOTWEAR has copped flak from some Rangers fans. It shows you what he's up against. Martin committed the cardinal sin of not slipping on a pair of brogues for his unveiling the other day and it was just another thing to throw at the incoming head coach. The response from some to his appointment has been staggering. It reeks to me of entitlement – and misguided entitlement in that. It seems to me there's a large element who didn't want Martin to get the gig and it's going to take a huge effort to win them over. But I'd like to know, who did they expect to get the job? In fact, we know the answer. I suspect some of them actually thought there was a chance Jose Mourinho was going to walk up the marble staircase this summer. If not Jose, then Steven Gerrard. Or Davide Ancelotti – who obviously played Rangers like a piccolo. Either way, Rangers felt it was going to be some other big name, top level European coach in the hot seat. And now noses are out of joint that it's the guy who got sacked by Southampton months ago after a wretched time in the Premier League. They are coming at it the wrong way – and they are clearly stuck in the past. This isn't the Rangers team of the nineties. They are not going to get an elite European boss like Dick Advocaat strolling in. They are DELUDED. They've barely won a trophy for more than 10 years and there's another major rebuilding job required. And it's going to take time. Martin is as good as anyone to do it. He's got decent experience as a manager. He had a tough job at MK Dons but he kept them up and progressed. It was similar at Swansea and then, don't forget, he did get Southampton promoted from the Championship. That's a brutal division to get out of, but he did it playing good football. If anyone watched their play-off win against Leeds, they would have seen it wasn't all tippy-tippy stuff either. They did it the hard way and weren't afraid to go long. Martin has a reputation for being a purist and stubborn in sticking to his ways, but he has shown he can adapt and evolve. I only met him a few times when he was at Norwich City and he always came across as an intelligent, principled character. He wants his teams to play a certain way and Rangers fans should be happy to hear this stuff. When was the last time this club played attractive football, or had some kind of identity? I certainly can't remember it. There's no doubt Martin has a tough job on his hands. He will want to play his way but he'll need the players to do it. Recruitment will be absolutely critical to his plans, otherwise it will be an uphill struggle. But Rangers fans need to be patient and give him a chance. I'm not saying they will compete or even win the league this coming season. But I am saying it's NOT impossible. You look at the results last season and where the points were dropped. It's not that big a stretch to think with some decent signings they can get the better of the rest of the teams in Scotland and then go up against Celtic. It might not happen straight away but there's no point writing him off before he's sat in the dugout. This is a support that welcomed the likes of Pedro Caixinha and Michael Beale with open arms, they gave Gerrard a thunderous welcome when he'd never been a manager. They were preparing to do it again for Ancelotti, despite having never been out from under his dad's wing. Martin has got experience – and he's also got experience of life at the club. Some people are throwing his tough spell at Ibrox as a player at him. But that could work in his favour. He saw what it was like at rock bottom and the extreme pressure that comes with it. And yet he still took the job. That says a lot. A lot of folk would have run a mile. He's a strong character and he'll need to be. He'll need to completely shake off the loser mentality at the club and that won't be straight forward. Martin could be a good appointment but, at the same time, I doubt Celtic will be too concerned. They need to take care of their own business – and they have to assume Rangers WILL be much improved next season. It's a quiet part of the summer right now but time is ticking and Celtic will need to get into gear. In an ideal world you'd have two or three new faces reporting for the first day of pre-season, giving them time to bed in ahead of the new campaign and the crucial Champions League qualifiers. The transfer market doesn't always work that way but they will need to move quickly to bring in at the very least three new players. Celtic can't afford to sit on their hands and they have to see there's a chance to put the food down early while Rangers get used to the new coaching team and regime.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Ryan Reynolds gets harsh Jamie Vardy to Wrexham truth as transfer budget clear
Wrexham have been linked with several Premier League stars, including Leicester's Jamie Vardy, this summer, with a senior figure now making their financial position clear An advisor to Wrexham 's Hollywood owners has made it clear the club is "a million miles away" from being able to afford star signings like Jamie Vardy. The Welsh side, backed by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, have been linked with a string of big names in the summer transfer window following their promotion to the Championship. Vardy is one of the players who has most frequently been connected with a move to the Racecourse Ground. The striker announced his decision to leave Leicester at the end of the season in April and said he wants to continue playing football. However, Les Reed, who sits on Wrexham's transfer committee, has now confirmed the 38-year-old is unlikely to see out the rest of his career in North Wales. Reed, who was previously involved in taking Southampton from League One to the Premier League, set out the reality of the club's financial position during an interview with the i Paper. He said: "Let's take an equivalent of Jamie Vardy. Everyone thinks he's out of contract, there's no transfer fee, Wrexham could do that. You're talking about players who are on £140,000 a week. We are a million miles away from that because we don't get Premier League revenues or broadcasting money. "We will have a decent budget. Everyone externally thinks we've got an unlimited budget because of our owners, but that's not true. We'll have a good budget simply because we've got very good revenues. "That's the benefit of the owners. It's not their deep pockets, it's their ability to generate higher revenues, which enables us to spend within the regulations and [offer] decent salaries." Vardy is one of several seasoned Premier League campaigners Wrexham have been linked with, including Fulham captain Tom Cairney and Tottenham's Ben Davies. Wolves defender Craig Dawson and West Ham duo Aaron Cresswell and Danny Ings are also rumoured to be of interest to manager Phil Parkinson. But Reed, who once had an ill-fated spell as manager of Charlton in the Premier League, said the club is now looking to lower the average age of the squad. It follows the Red Dragons recently saying goodbye to their two oldest players in stalwart goalkeeper Mark Howard and veteran striker Steven Fletcher, both aged 38. "In the Championship, they [new signings] will need to be athletic," said Reed. "It's not swansong land for players who are having one more go before they retire. Our ambition will be to drive the average age down, but at the same time remain competitive. "We can't just go 'that's it, we're only going for younger players'. A couple of clubs recently – and I won't mention their names – have done that, and it hasn't worked. It will be a mix." Meanwhile, another ex-Premier League boss has not ruled out the possibility of Wrexham achieving an astonishing fourth successive promotion next term. Reynolds and McElhenney have made no secret of their ambition of taking their club all the way to the top and former Stoke manager Tony Pulis believes it could happen. "Phil Parkinson has experience of Championship football," Pulis told BoyleSports. "He'll understand what's needed. I don't care what anybody says, to get three promotions on the bounce is just exceptional. "They are in such a positive place at the moment, the crowd are behind them massively and they'll have to be next year as well because the level moves up again, but nothing is impossible. "The fans will really get behind them and it's going to be an interesting league next year. It'll be interesting to see what Wrexham do and what they can achieve." Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Sign up to our newsletter! Wrexham is the Game is great new way to get top-class coverage Wrexham AFC is the arguably the fastest-growing club in the world at the moment thanks to a certain Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney. The Dragons have achieved two consecutive promotions and are cheered on by crowds from not only North Wales but also from all over the globe, thanks to the success of the Disney+ documentary 'Welcome to Wrexham'. But does it have a dedicated, quality source of information piped through to your inbox each week, free of ads but packed with informed opinion, analysis and even a little bit of fun each week? That's where Wrexham is the Game steps in... Available every Wednesday, it provides all the insights you need to be a top red. And for a limited time, a subscription to 'Wrexham is the Game' will cost fans just £15 for the first year.
