Jim Duffy tonight admitted he and his Ayr players deserve to face criticism – after Partick Thistle hit them for four again.
The Jags coasted to their second 4-0 cinch Championship win against United in the space of six weeks on a miserable afternoon for the Honest Men at Somerset Park.
And Duffy confessed his men had fallen far short of the mark in front of their own support.
The boss said: "We have to accept that after that kind of scoreline at home, we deserve criticism – both myself and the players.
"As much as Thistle are a good side, we shouldn't be losing as heavily as that at home.
"It's about the key moments in games and we made crucial errors and Thistle absolutely punished us for that.
"We were beaten by the better side but I thought the scoreline was harsh.
"We lost a terrible goal to go one behind and then dropped one of the most potent strikers in the division right after that to be two behind. It put us right up against it.
"We went with two wingers to try and create something and it left us a bit more exposed and Thistle took advantage near the end.
"Strangely enough, for all it was the same scoreline today, I actually thought we played better today than in the game up there.
"But we have to focus on doing more at home in terms of being positive and not having to chase games in the first place."
Ayr stuck with the same XI that earned a point against Inverness last week and enjoyed a bright opening.
Paddy Reading headed just over as they forced the early pace.
But Thistle burst into life after half-an-hour and hit the front thanks to a huge slice of luck when skipper Ross Docherty's free kick took a wicked deflection and spun past the helpless Aidan McAdams .
And within seconds they had doubled their lead when Brian Graham was left unmarked eight yards out to volley home a Kyle Turner corner.
Mark McKenzie had a close range effort saved by Jamie Sneddon as United tried for a quick response.
And Reading fired just over at the start of the second half as they chased a comeback.
But Thistle stamped on any potential threat with a controlled performance after the break and rarely looked in danger of letting the points slip.
And they put the icing on the cake late with two late goals to complete a dominant display.
Graham rose to head home an inch perfect cross from Ciaran McKenna as they wrapped up the points.
And then Stuart Bannigan crossed for sub Shea Gordon to smash home at the back post.
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