 Higgins lost the club captaincy after the arrival of John Rankin on 5 January 2017 from Falkirk, as decided by the recently appointed Queens manager, Gary Naysmith.Higgins contract at Queens wasn't renewed during May 2017, so he was released after six seasons, four and a half of those as the club captain.On 18 May 2017, Higgins signed for Scottish League One club Ayr United, deciding to go full-time after their recent relegation from the Scottish Championship, after leaving Queen of the South.