Scott Brown has admitted that Ayr has appeal with "some lovely golf courses - and a race track along the road."

However, the former Celtic captain said that these were not the reasons he has taken up the managerial role at Ayr United.

The Honest Men confirmed that the ex-Fleetwood Town boss would be leading the club on Tuesday, January 23, alongside his assistant and former Hibernian teammate Steven Whittaker.

The pair spoke to the press for the first time since their appointment this week and told of how they opted to come to Somerset Park despite interest from elsewhere.

Brown commented: "We've had opportunities to go to other clubs but we've taken some time off just to relax and get away from football.

"You start to get itchy feet after a while and think #should I have dived into this club?' - I think at this moment and time it’s the perfect club for me and Steven.

"There's a lot of managers that are out of jobs, managers that have done really well and managers that have maybe struggled to get back in.

"You start to think maybe you won’t get back in, should I have taken that job, should I have dived in right away but it wasn't right for us, we wanted to take some time away from football and have that understanding and reflect on the time we had at Fleetwood.

"I think, for us, that’s why we had that reflection. We're coming here and we know we need to push Ayr United as high up as we possibly can."

Brown also added that it wasn't simply a case of choosing one club or another - and that he was sold on the "long-term journey" at Ayr United.

He added: "For us, it was a good opportunity at the right time, you don't want to throw yourself into something we didn't really know too much about.

"Forest Green, I think they had a manager for six games, so for us, it was important that we had that understanding from the chairman that this is not just short-term, this is us going forward in a long-term journey.

"I've signed a two-and-half-year deal, so I hope to see out the whole two-and-half years.

"It wasn't about one team or another, it was just about what this chairman and the board wanted.

"As soon as we went in [to their interview], we got that vibe that they’ve got ambition, they’re good guys, they’re honest - I think that's the biggest thing in football."

At present, the former Scotland internationals are refusing to look too far beyond their first match in charge away to Queen's Park on Saturday, January 27.

Brown said: "We'll take it one game at a time, that's our whole philosophy. We'll focus on the game at the weekend, Queen's is huge at the weekend then we’ll work week to week from there.

"The main thing is the lads buy into it, we work together and we work hard.

"We’re going to go to a big stadium on Saturday, the lads will look forward to it. It will be a big pitch, it will be open, both teams want to try and play football so it’ll be good.

"We've got a couple of days to try and implement as much as we can possibly give them information-wise.

"Obviously, there's going to be a few changes in terms of shape and maybe personal as well. For us to try and get that over to them in the next couple of days will be hard but it’s going to be enjoyable."

As the new manager set out what he would expect from his players, he also commented on what he and Whittaker would bring as a management team.

Brown commented: "The minimum they can expect from us to be in here before them, make sure we're functional and we’re working hard and we give them as much information as we can.

"It's going to be different (from previous regimes). Davie (White) has done a good job over the last couple of days with the way he’s got the lads playing and buzzing again.

"We just need to put small details but keep that positivity going, because the lads are in a happy place.

"They've managed to keep three clean sheets which they've not done for a long time so we need to make sure we build on that.

"It’s just adding a little bit of structure of what we want as well, that's taking nothing away from Davie it’s just us putting our own game plan into things as well.

"I think it’s just a little more structured, I think there is no right or wrong answer in football. For us to put an influence on the team will take time, it will just be a few changes here and there."

Brown, who watched Ayr United's recent 2-0 victory over Arbroath from the stands, has also been impressed by the support at Somerset Park - and has vowed to give them something to cheer about.

He commented: "The fans behind the goal were brilliant, it was freezing, windy and raining and they kept singing and dancing for 90 minutes.

"We just want to make sure we give them something back with a nice style of play and a winning style as well."