Ayr have all the credentials of potential title winners, but recent setbacks against top-of-the-table rivals Falkirk and Livingston has slowed down their charge.

The Falkirk defeat was keenly felt as it was probably the only match of the season when performance levels fell into the disappointing category for Scott Brown’s side.

The Livingston loss was slightly different. That was considered to be more about a couple of errors and Ayr were disappointed not to take anything from the game.

There is a sense that the Honest Men are searching for their early season groove, which is made all the tougher as they go into the second of three successive league games on the road.

Two draws, two wins and two defeats exactly mirrors the last six Championship outings for Rovers, but the visitors have the edge of two triumphs over the Fifers already in this campaign.

Both of those came at Somerset Park, with a late August league success quickly followed by Challenge Cup victory.

NEW YORK — The feeling of heartbreak consumed the Yankees as they said their goodbyes.

Players were still in full uniform 55 minutes after they saw their championship dreams come to a halt, giving long hugs and clapping hands with the trainers, staff members, coaches, and clubhouse attendants who were on the 170-game journey with them. Some players had tears in their eyes as they embraced each other, others were still in shock. Some of them smiled in gratitude for how far they had come, others were static and pissed off at the bitter end.

“I think falling short in the World Series will stick with me until I die,” Aaron Judge said.

“This is as bad as it gets,” Gerrit Cole said. “It’s the worst feeling you can have.”

“I’ll remember the way I feel right now for the rest of my life,” Anthony Volpe said.

[RELATED: Full coverage of the World Series] 

The loss desolated the clubhouse. A special season that started 5-0 effectively ended in the fifth inning of Game 5 of the Fall Classic. The worst defensive inning in World Series history will stick in the minds of the Yankees and their fans for however many more Octobers it will take for the club to follow through on its promise to deliver the franchise’s 28th championship. Yes, the cracks that led to their tragic ending were that unforgettable, that unforgivable.

Judge’s dropped catch on a routine fly ball to center field. Volpe’s fielding error at shortstop. Anthony Rizzo’s unhurried reaction to a ground ball. Cole’s failure to cover first base.

The Yankees became the first team in Major League Baseball history, across the regular season and the postseason, to blow a five-run lead, surrender at least five unearned runs, commit three errors, a balk and a catcher’s interference all in the same game. Any one of those misplays would be bad enough in the excusable setting of a 162-game season. But this was a World Series game where the Yankees were facing elimination, and they embarrassed themselves out of a chance to extend the series back to Los Angeles. The Dodgers will be enjoying a championship parade on Friday, the same day Game 6 of the World Series was supposed to occur.

When asked what the Yankees have learned from the World Series, Giancarlo Stanton said: “Just never to have this feeling again. Any type of focus, miscues, or anything, just to up the level in all aspects.”

Aaron Judge’s error in the fifth inning of Game 5 helped open the floodgates for a five-run Dodgers inning. (Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The 2024 Yankees entered the postseason as one of the worst defensive teams in the major leagues. Their 93 errors were the third-most in the American League, and seventh-highest overall. All year long, we saw New York’s stars take bad angles on fly balls and commit fielding and throwing errors in the outfield and the infield. Judge had the worst metric on the team for Outs Above Average with -6, and Juan Soto was right behind him with -5. Gleyber Torres‘ 18 errors were the most among all qualified second basemen in the majors. Judge’s -9 Defensive Runs Saved ranked 14th out of 16 qualified center fielders in MLB. Their .984 fielding percentage as a team ranked 24th in MLB.

The Yankees left the World Series showing the national audience that, until the very end, they were incapable of playing sound fundamental baseball. 

“I think from a PFP (Pitchers Fielding Practice) standpoint we’re pretty good,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said on that horrific fifth inning. “It’s always magnified when obviously in a moment it doesn’t happen. I’d have to look for sure, but from a pitching standpoint, we’re pretty good at those kinds of things. Those are tough plays to be super consistent at, especially when you have 12, 15, at times 20 different pitchers kind of rolling through with different skill sets. Some we work hard at. Obviously, we had a rough inning tonight.”

Where do the Yankees go from here?

What’s next for the Yankees after their World Series defeat?

They can start by cleaning up their act. As much as Boone is beloved in the Yankees organization, his response to his team’s inability to play sharp baseball is as much a problem as his apparent indifference to their lack of discipline and preparation. The Yankees need a fearless leader and a coaching staff that will criticize their misplays and help fix the smaller details that can prevent a meltdown like the fifth inning of Game 5. We saw too many mental mistakes and lapses in focus this season that could’ve been avoided. The Yankees need someone to keep applying pressure in order to maximize their efforts, not someone who will nonchalantly accept the status quo.

This was the final guaranteed year of Boone’s three-year deal. The Yankees have a team option on him for 2025, and it remains unclear if they’ll take it.

Beyond leadership, the Yankees face questions about the strength of their roster with key players hitting free agency.

Soto, the guy who had the best OPS (1.085), the highest batting average (.313), drew the most walks (7) and scored the most runs in the World Series for the Yankees no longer has any loyalty to the team. It will be brutal for the Yankees if they lose him to another club (worse still, if he goes to the crosstown rivals) this winter. Outfielder Alex Verdugo could also leave in free agency, so the Yankees could be faced with the task of replacing both of their corner outfielders, with only top prospect Jasson Dominguez as an obvious alternative.

Torres has been involved in trade rumors seemingly every offseason in his seven years with the Yankees. He’s now a free agent, and even though he was solid in the final month of the regular season and in the playoffs after moving up to the leadoff spot, it has always seemed likely that he would sign with another team. Rizzo likely played his final game in pinstripes, too. With the calamity of that fifth inning fresh in their minds, it would be in the Yankees’ best interests to prioritize a younger, faster, and more athletic first baseman to post up every day.

Cole could theoretically opt out of his contract and reach the open market. But since he’s in line to continue earning $36 million every year through 2028, he seems likely to stay with the Yankees. It’s tough to imagine a scenario where another team matches or tops that average annual value. Right-hander Clay Holmes is now a free agent, and after the Yankees demoted him from closer duties for the more lights-out performances of Luke Weaver, it’s unlikely there will be a reunion in the Bronx.

There will be a lot of changes this offseason. 

Dodgers vs. Yankees: MINI-MOVIE of 2024 World Series

“The way we handled ourselves in the clubhouse, I think it was really special for me,” Soto said. “That was one of the things I enjoyed most. Coming in every day and hanging out with guys that I literally can call them family.”

The 2024 Yankees family went through it all this year. Volpe broke out in the playoffs, and he and rookie catcher Austin Wells provided hope for the future. Stanton became the first Yankee player ever to hit seven home runs in a single postseason. Weaver’s unexpected late-game dominance was a welcome surprise. Right-hander Luis Gil could be an important staple of the Yankees rotation for years to come. Jazz Chisholm Jr. fit right into the mayhem that is the Bronx scene, and he’s under team control for two more years.

So, it’s not all doom and gloom for the Yankees, even though it might feel that way for a while. But they have a lot of work to do this offseason and beyond to get back to the World Series and try and close the gap with the Dodgers. Once pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a few months, the Yankees will have no choice but to turn their pain into motivation and try to move on from a feeling they said they’d remember forever.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB reporter for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.

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“Teams will move about. The two Edinburgh teams are at the bottom – I would expect them to pick up so it will change as we go on.

“Once you get to the more business end of the season then you can start looking at that kind of stuff. We are fully focused on winning games and that is what we have been doing.”

Thelin has maintained a level headed demeanour and a mantra of taking one game at a time since his summer arrival.

But does the experienced Shinnie have a part to play in ensuring some of the younger members of the squad do not get carried away amid a run of 15 wins and a draw?

“It is a hard one, it is letting them have that little bit of excitement because it is good and we are in a good place so it is about enjoying that but it is also about keeping our foot on the pedal because nothing has been achieved,” the midfielder explained.

“It is about trying to continue what we are doing, trying to continue to get better. We are still reasonably early in the manager’s era, so we are still learning as we go.

“It is enjoying it while we are at it because winning games is enjoyable but on top of that it is keeping right on top of it and keeping our foot firmly on the gas.”

Shinnie won the Scottish Cup with Inverness Caledonian Thistle nine years ago and winning silverware with Aberdeen remains “a massive ambition”.

“We know the challenge at hand,” he said of facing Celtic. “We know Celtic will be confident as well so we are trying to focus on ourselves and do the things that have gone well for us.

“Anything can happen in a cup game. We will be focused and ready to go.”

Former English Premier League referee Martin Atkinson is to take over as VAR manager at the Scottish FA.

The 53-year-old will take up the post in early December and is replacing Jon Moss, who left after 52 days to become head of referees at Football Australia.

Atkinson was an official in England’s top flight for 20 years and refereed the 2015 Europa League final.

He will leave his role as select group manager at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to begin work alongside SFA head of refereeing Willie Collum.

“I am delighted to appoint someone of Martin’s calibre,” said Collum. “I did not expect to be recruiting for that position again so quickly, but Jon received a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and went with our best wishes.

“I am pleased Martin has agreed to continue the considerable work undertaken to date in optimising our VAR operation and I’m sure our VAR officials and match officials generally will look forward to working with someone of Martin’s experience.”

The Dodgers’ 8-7 victory over the Yankees in Game 5 for their eighth World Series title and second in five years averaged 18.6 million viewers on FOX, FOX Deportes and streaming, according to Nielsen.

That is the most-watched game in the Fall Classic since Game 7 in 2019 when the Washington Nationals’ victory over the Houston Astros averaged 23.22 million.

The series averaged 15.81 million, its best performance since 2017 when Houston’s victory over the Dodgers in seven games averaged 18.93 million.

Its also quite a turnaround from last year, when the Texas Rangers’ title over the Arizona Diamondbacks in five games averaged a record-low 9.11 million. The Dodgers-Yankees series was a 67% increase over that mark. 

Additionally, the complete 2024 MLB Postseason on FOX and FS1 averaged 7,485,000 viewers, up +42% over last year’s average (5,265,000) and FOX Sports’ best Postseason through Game 5 of the World Series since 2017, per FOX Sports PR. There was also a 101% increase in viewership among adults 18-34. 

The audience Wednesday peaked at 21.27 million from 11:15-11:30 p.m. EDT.

Dodgers vs. Yankees: MINI-MOVIE of 2024 World Series | MLB on FOX 🎥

The game had a 21.1 rating and 55 share in Los Angeles and 14.8 rating and 39 share in New York.

The rating is the percentage of television households tuned in. The share refers to a percentage of the audience viewing it at the time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Kella was the winner of the second series of Channel Four’s talent show, The Piano. His debut single, Eve & Frank, is out now.

The 23-year-old self-taught classical pianist only started playing the instrument aged 13 and, before he turned to music, he was football-mad.

Kella grew up in Bootle on Merseyside and says there was never any question over who he would support.

“My whole family were Liverpool fans,” he told BBC Sport. “So, I was brought up a Red too.

“My favourite players when I was growing up were Fernando Torres, Xabi Alonso and Steven Gerrard – that was my era.

“I was too young to remember Istanbul [Liverpool’s legendary Champions League triumph] properly. I can remember all the fireworks going off afterwards, but it is only a vague memory.

“The highlight for me is more recent – the Barcelona game where we got beat 3-0 at the Nou Camp but then they came to Anfield in the second leg and we thrashed them 4-0. It was an incredible night.

“From that team I loved Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk – he was a massive standout at the back and is arguably the best defender in the world – but that whole team under Jurgen Klopp was just ridiculously good.”

Kella was invited to play at Anfield’s Legends Lounge before Liverpool’s first game of the season against Brentford, when he opened the club’s new trophy room and was given a signed shirt by legendary striker Ian Rush.

“That was just unbelievable,” Kella added. “But when I was there, I was speaking to a few people in there about Arne Slot, and how he had such big shoes to fill.

“I could not imagine anything more daunting than taking Klopp’s job straight after he left, but Slot has absolutely smashed it out of the park.

“We are not just winning games, either. The results have been great but we are playing good football too.”

Kella plays a lot less football himself these days but he was in action this week in a charity game at Bootle FC to raise money for Zoe’s Place, a baby hospice in West Derby which is at risk of closure because of a lack of funding.

“It’s massive for Liverpool that this facility stays open so the whole city is doing as much as possible to raise the funds,” he explained.

“I even wore blue on the day – never again, though!”

Chris Sutton and Brad Kella were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.