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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Stuart Wilson

Ayr United striker Mark McKenzie happy to do hard yards for goal king Dipo Akinyemi

Mark McKenzie admits he's happy doing the spadework for Dipo Akinyemi - as long as it keeps Ayr United on top of the Championship.

The high flying Honest Men maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 win at Morton on Saturday.

McKenzie, who scored his first goal of the campaign at Cappielow, has seen red-hot strike partner Akinyemi grab the headlines thus far.

But he's adamant that suits him just fine.

The United Academy graduate said: "He's deserved all the headlines that have come his way and I'm happy to keep doing the yards if it helps him score the goals.

"It was great that he set me up for my goal - I think he's owed me that one!

"Dipo has a great finish on him and we've built up a great understanding on the pitch and in training, where we bounce off each other really well.

"Hopefully we can keep building on that and there will be a lot more to come. Having the relationship on and off the park is vital for that."

McKenzie spent much of last season playing a utility role on the right side of midfield and started the new league season on the bench.

But his half time introduction through the middle - his natural position as a youth - helped turn the game at Queen's Park and sparked Ayr's current run of form.

He added: "It's good for me to get off the mark personally - it wasn't my best finish but those are the ones you need to get you up and running.

"The team is playing with a lot of confidence at the moment and everyone is backing each other within the dressing room.

"There's competition all over the park and that's the way we want it.

"We had to stand up to Morton for long spells but you know you're going to face different types of game throughout a season and you need to be able to come through those tests.

"When you look at the last few months of last season, we had the belief in how we were playing but we just needed things to fall for us.

"Thankfully that's starting to happen for us now. We'll take it game by game as it's very early in the season and we know it's a huge game next week against Partick and we'll be ready for them."

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