David Hopkin insists Ayr can claim the point they need to ensure Championship safety as a final night shootout at Inverness looms.
United's goalless draw against Queen of the South today leaves the Honest men facing a perilous trip to the Highlands next week.
Ayr know a draw keeps them safe, while an Arbroath victory over Morton should also keep United safe without the need for anything in the Highlands due to goal difference.
And Hopkin insists he is feeling far more confident about the task in the wake of Ayr's improved performance against Queens at Somerset.
He said: “It’s good that we have managed to hang in there especially after last week.
"I said to the players we had to be resilient and I thought we were.
"But we should have won today.
"The players were low after the Arbroath game but we worked hard all week and created chances.
"I thought we defended brilliantly and should at least have scored one goal.
"Queens played for a point but I was delighted with our effort and commitment.
"If I see that performance against Inverness I’ll be delighted."
Hopkin added: "When I came to the club my remit was to stay in the Championship.
"We now have a massive game at Inverness but there is another massive game between Morton and Arbroath.
"We’re still in the game, we’re still here.
"We’ll have another tough week at training and if we get a point we’ll still be a Championship team."
Michael Moffat returned to lead the line for Ayr on a huge day for the club while Mark McKenzie played just in behind despite his broken nose at Arbroath last week.
Fans outside the ground unfurled a banner before the game which read 'No Heart No Fight Prove Us Wrong'.
And it seemed to have the desired effect with Ayr looking far hungrier from the off.
McKenzie was particularly to the fore and turned to flash an early drive just past the post after being teed up by Luke McCowan.
McCowan and McKenzie then both went close as Ayr continued to pour forward.
United wanted a penalty on the stroke of half time when the ball struck Euan East's hand in the box but ref Nick Walsh waved away the calls.
Ayr continued to look the likelier after the break and Michael Moffat drove straight at Rohan Ferguson as they pressed for the breakthrough.
Josh Todd then fired just over from 20 yards.
And he then blew the golden chance with 15 minutes to go when volleying straight at Ferguson from just eight yards.
Queens boss Allan Johnston said: "It wasn't a classic game and there wasn't much between the teams.
"Overall a draw was a fair result.
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