Fenway Sports Group will bring glory days back

Ian Ayre believes owners Fenway Sports Group will help bring the glory days back to Anfield.

Liverpool haven't won a trophy for five years but the club's new managing director insists a structure is being put in place to ensure that drought is addressed.

"I took great comfort when John Henry did his first interview on that famous day when we came down the steps at Slaughter and May," Ayre said. "The most poignant line that everyone hung on to was 'we want to win'.

"We all want to win. It's not going to happen overnight and I don't think it should.

"What both John and Tom (Werner) have said is that we don't want to build a team to win it once, we want to build a team to keep winning it.

"When I started going to matches we kept on winning it. We want to build a team who can do that again.

"It's going to take a lot of hard work but if everyone comes together I'm convinced Liverpool can get back to where they were.

"Everyone has to believe that. The minute people stop believing we'll be in trouble."

Ayre admits it's a very different club to the one he walked into after his appointment as commercial director in 2007. During the divisive reign of Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Liverpool was dogged by mistrust and infighting

Over the last four years at the club the one thing that was missing for a lot of that time was unity," he said.

"The big challenge is to ensure everyone is rowing in the same direction.

"The football club kind of operates in this virtuous circle where you create revenue, you invest that into the team, the team performs better, wins trophies and that makes you more successful commercially.

"We've slipped in some areas of that circle. The challenge is to get all of those working and keep them all working together.

That falls squarely on my shoulders now and I'm happy to take that on. I think we have a great future with these owners."

Having been appointed by Hicks and Gillett, Ayre admits it would have been easy for the new owners to show him the door after the takeover.

He said: "They could have had a clean sweep and installed their own team.

"I'm sure that's something they would have considered.

"What I find encouraging about the owners is that they don't judge very quickly.

"They take their time to analyse and assess what's best for their investment and best for this football club."

In his new role Ayre will remain heavily involved in the commercial side of the business which has flourished under his guidance.

"I won't be casting aside my role in business development in the commercial area.

"We'll probably add some additional resource there but we all agreed me retaining responsibility in that area is very important, but at same time pulling together all the other parts - football, finance, legal - to ensure we are all doing what's best for this club."

Source: Liverpool Echo

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