Ayr boss Lee Bullen admits he's learning plenty about his new side after a Scottish Cup exit at the hands of St Mirren.
The Honest Men were swept away by an early Buddies' blitz that saw the Premiership side race two up inside 24 minutes.
Now Bullen has challenged his men to come back fighting in a massive two weeks of league football that will go a long way to defining their season.
The head coach said: "The early goal knocked the stuffing out of us today and then we looked to lose a bit of confidence in the shape we were trying to play.
"The second goal was the killer and then we had to readjust.
"We had a go in the second half but you have to test the goalie more than we did.
"Every game is a learning one for us at the moment.
"Our bread and butter is next week in the league and we have five games in two weeks coming up."
Bullen, who hopes to complete a loan deal for Charlton midfielder Ben Dempsey in the coming days, knows reinforcements will aid the cause.
And he said: "We might get one, maybe two in over the next week or so.
"But we have boys on the bench today who are also capable of coming in and having an impact during a big two weeks of football ahead."
Ayr had gone with an unfamiliar back three as they looked to counter Saints and it was United who began on the front foot.
James Maxwell dragged a shot wide from the edge of the box when the angle opened up for a shot as the afternoon promised much.
But no sooner had Ayr threatened than they were behind when Scott Tanser's cross from the left seemed to hang for an eternity before Kyle McAllister rose to nod home at the backpost.
Saints took heart and sensed the game was there for the early kill with Connor Ronan flashing a half volley just wide.
And on 24 minutes, they doubled their lead as Jay Henderson cut through the United defence with ease before playing in Greg Kiltie to produce a smart finish.
Kristian Dennis then had a fresh air shot when waiting for a tap in before Ronan saw a long range effort tipped over by Aidan McAdams.
Bullen introduced Daire O'Connor for Maxwell at the break and the Irishman looked lively but Ayr still struggled to show any threat in and around the box.
Kiltie then drew another good save from McAdams before shaving the post with a shot on the turn as the Buddies looked for a third.
Tomi Adeloye and Fraser Bryden were called from the bench with 15 minutes to go and Adeloye almost got Ayr back into it with a header from an O'Connor corner which flashed just wide.
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