Mark Kerr admits he can't wait to get the real ball out - after putting Ayr through a marathon pre season stint.
The boss saw his side complete their build up to the new campaign with a 2-2 draw at Partick this afternoon.
And Kerr insists he'll just be delighted to start talking about competitive action for the first time since March.
Ayr kick off the Betfred Cup group stages on Tuesday night at Albion Rovers and prepared with this hard fought stalemate at Firhill.
Kerr told the Ayrshire Post: "It was good just to come through another game with the boys unscathed.
"That's been the main worry through this pre season as it's been a very strange preparation due to how long we've been in.
"We've absolutely needed it because of the lay-off during lockdown but I've found myself doing stuff this pre season that I've never done before.
"We've really had to manage the boys and big Mick [McArdle] did a lot of studying during the summer on injury prevention and the trends around teams coming back from lockdown.
"It's worked really well for us and now we can't wait to get cracking with the real stuff."
Ayr were given their second stern test in a few days by League One title hopefuls as Thistle stepped up to the mark to provide a thorough examination.
United took an early first half lead through a brilliant Joe Chalmers free kick but Thistle were soon level through Ayr old boy Ross Docherty.
The Honest Men were back in front just after the restart when Aaron Muirhead forced a low shot beneath Jamie Sneddon.
But Brian Graham, who was a constant menace for Thistle all afternoon, headed the equaliser at the backpost with 20 minutes to go.
Kerr said: "It was another good workout against a strong Thistle side.
"We dominated a lot of the ball and got into good areas and there was lots to take from the performance.
"Now we're looking forward to getting going against Albion and the boys will be really up for it."
