Ayr United boss Lee Bullen relishes Friday night test as Honest Men search for return to form

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Lee Bullen insists he has the broad shoulders to get Ayr through their rocky start to the season.The United boss is navigating the trickiest spell of nearly two years spent in the Somerset hotseat.

But the man who made a career out of being a leader on the pitch says he's relishing the chance to turn fortunes around after a difficult month which has seen Ayr lose four on the bounce.For Bullen and his staff, these rough seas are relatively unchartered waters, having come in to save the club from Championship relegation in 2022 before last season's second placed finish.

Expectations among a success-starved fanbase have soared and while Bullen knows that comes with the territory, early season turbulence has conspired to put Somerset Park on the backfoot.Partick Thistle and the BBC cameras roll into town this Friday night, with a stack of familiar faces in the opposition line-up merely adding to the tale of the tape.

But Bullen insists the highly charged atmosphere around the game will be just what the doctor ordered. "Some people might look at it and claim it's not the game we need at this stage, but I think it's exactly the opposite of that," he told the Ayrshire Post. "There will be a good atmosphere inside Somerset and we need to go out and feed off that. "The last few games have dealt us a difficult hand in trying to rebuild the team at very short notice after our injuries, but we can sit and feel sorry for ourselves or we can get on with it.