Ayr United manager Lee Bullen insists his side fate is in their own hands ahead of their Scottish Championship clash against Dunfermline Athletic.

The Honest Men go into the huge league clash off the back of a dramatic 2-2 draw against Inverness Caledonian Thistle at the weekend.

The Highlanders stormed in a commanding lead early on thanks to goals from Shane Sutherland and Logan Chalmers.

Those strikes meant United went in at the break trailing 2-0 in the league match at Somerset Park.

In the second half, the hosts rallied and Fraser Bryden notched his first goal for the club to cut the deficit.

Then, for the second week in a row, Ayr bagged a dramatic late equaliser.

Markus Fjortoft heading in Kerr McInroy’s free-kick to ensure the points were shared.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Bullen said: “It was another comeback which is very frustrating.

“We just seem to basically give a goal away in the first 10 minutes then decide to play football which is really disappointing.

“I think we are at a stage in the first 10 or 15 minutes that the players are so desperate to do well that the composure goes out the window a little bit.

“But again credit to the players again for showing a lot of belief to come back and we possibly should have gone on to win the game.”

Next up for the Honest Men is a big game against a Pars side who sit just three points behind them in the table currently occupying the relegation play-off place.

Bullen insists his side will be going out to play for a win at the weekend to try and seal their Scottish Championship status for next season.

He said: “As it stands at the moment the frustrating side of it is we are not confirmed as a Scottish Championship team and we keep prolonging it by drawing matches instead of winning them.

“But ultimately it is still in our hands.

“So, we go to up to East End Park on Saturday with a great opportunity, should we win to basically put it to bed.”