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The 1996/97 season was the 100th season of Scottish league football. This season saw the introduction of a fourth tier of league football (the Scottish 3rd Division) and also three points for a win being awarded instead of just two.
Gordon Dalziel made an immediate impact on the team and its performance, mustering an experienced side that ensured that the club not only didn’t sink into Division 3 but quickly developed the art of success winning the Second Division title as they did so.
The season had started well with a 5-2 win at home to Livingston and a super 4-0 away win at Dingwall in cup competitions. United stamped their mark on the title early with a 6-0 victory at home to Berwick Rangers in August.
Ayr lost 3-1 in front of over 44,000 people Ibrox in the League Cup but proceeded to win eight of their next nine league matches. United endured a less than convincing period in December which included a 4-1 defeat to Dumbarton but, after a Scottish Cup defeat to Clyde, won eight of their next eleven league matches a sequence which took the Honest Men into contention for the league title.
With Ayr and Hamilton now fighting for the title United won a moral victory with a 1-1 draw at Hamilton in April paving the way for the honest men to simply win their last two league matches to take the second division title by three points.
Icing on the cake was victory over Kilmarnock not only in the Ayrshire Cup Final, but also in an early season away win in a League Cup match.
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