Ayr United boss will have no problem picking Liam Smith to play against Dundee United

Ayr United manager Ian McCall will have no problem selecting Liam Smith to play against Dundee United tonight – even though he has signed a pre-contract agreement to move to Tannadice in the summer.

As exclusively revealed in The Courier yesterday the former Hearts right-back has committed to a two-year deal with United.

Ayr boss McCall hasn’t considered taking him out of his starting line-up for the teams’ Championship clash this evening, however.

He said: “Speculation is something we as a club have had to live with for the past three or four months.

“We knew of interest in Liam from a number of clubs, but he has handled all the attention he was getting well.

“He has continued to play at a really high level, and I believe that he can go on and be an outstanding full-back. I have no qualms at all in playing him but all I would say it is an interesting time for the story to come out.

“Perhaps we should take it as a compliment.”

Aaron Muirhead is available again after recovering from a calf problem but Jamie Adams is ruled out.