AYR United today announced that manager Ian McCall is staying put after deciding against a move to Ladbrokes  Championship rivals Falkirk.

McCall was thought to be the leading candidate for the job,

The club said in a statement: "With an extremely important game on Saturday we felt it necessary to respond to media speculation.

"Falkirk Football Club acted impeccably in the conversations we had regarding our manager, Ian McCall.

McCall said :”I had a very brief meeting with Falkirk and made the decision to stay at Ayr United.

"I believe we have a young and exciting team. The club is moving in the right direction, though there is still a lot of hard work to do and I have a very personal debt to our Chairman, Lachlan Cameron.

Having played and managed at Falkirk before I am very aware they are a very special football club and I wish them all the best.”