Jamie Robson insists Dundee United are back in the promotion groove - and it's all down to their Irn-Bru Cup triumph.

Ray McKinnon's men finally got back to winning ways in the Championship thanks to Tuesday night's last-gasp 2-1 victory over relegation-threatened Ayr United which halted a slump of three straight league defeats.

The Tangerines kicked on from lifting the cup just a fews days earlier after sinking St Mirren in their Fir Park final to overcome Ayr and now sit within two points of second-top Morton in the race for a play-off spot.

United are all but out of the race to secure automatic promotion but Robson reckons they can add further fuel to their promotion push having received a much-needed lift from securing silverware.

Robson said: "Of course, we feel as though the cup win could be the turning point.

"It was a great moment for the players, the fans and the club overall.

"We're working so hard in training and every day we're getting better thanks to those efforts.

"We've rectified those things that we've been doing wrong and you can see how it's paying off.

"It was a great result to beat Ayr United the way we did.

"It's just what we needed.

"Now we've got the win after the Cup Final we can hopefully push on and build some momentum.

"I'm sure we can gets some more wins under our belts.

"I think we're over that form slump we had in the league.

"We're playing a bit better and more football certainly than were were before these back-to-back victories.

"When we pass the ball about fast and sharp with a good tempo, teams can't deal with us."

McKinnon's hopefuls head for Palmerston to face Queen of the South today and all eyes are on trying to snatch second place in the table in their quest for a top-flight return following the pain of last season's relegation.

He said: "If we finish in second place, then we've got two less games.

"We would be fresher than other teams if that were to be the case.

"We could also have a bit of time to watch the opposition before playing them in the play-off.

"We want to finish the season as strongly as possible.

"The play-offs are just round the corner.

"If we can take our good form into the play-offs, then I'm sure we can just carry that on.

"Hopefully we can get promoted at the end of it all.

"It will be a good last seven league games or so.

"We've got everything to play for.

"Personally, I'm just looking forward to playing in every game I can.

"I want to help the team out as much as I can."

The Taysiders breathed a sigh of relief after Ayr had two efforts scrambled off the line in the dying seconds of Tuesday's Tannadice victory, and Robson believes goal-hero Mark Durnan deserved special praise.

He said; "I think it was meant to be the way we beat Ayr.

"We managed to clear a couple of their efforts off the line right at the end.

"Sometimes it's just meant to be and that was the case with us.

"We've not had much luck in the league recently.

"So it's nice that something has fallen for us this time so we'll take it.

"Mark has scored five goals for us this season.

"He's turned into a real goal-machine for us.

"I'm delighted for him.

"One minute he's scoring the winner for us, then the next he's back defending and clearing the ball off the line.

"He's an important player for us."

Meanwhile, long-term crock Scott Fraser is still out for United.