“After seeing last night’s results, we knew we would have to come here and fight.

“I thought the players were magnificent first half and controlled the game. The amount of chances we missed, I think we hit the bar twice, the post twice and had a shot saved off the line, you start to think is it going to be one of those nights?

“We got the early goal and then get another and at times we were so far ahead of them but they then get a goal, a scruffy one from our point of view as it came from a long throw, and they are suddenly back in it.

“I thought we needed another goal because Ayr believed they could get something from the game.

“Whilst it is at 2-1, and you are away from home especially, you are never comfortable. You have work to do and we had work to do in very tough conditions.

“It was a typical cup tie and you have seen teams struggle in those types of conditions.

“Whilst I am praising my own players to get through a tough cup tie I also have to praise the Ayr United players spirit, determination and attitude. They kept going until the end.

“So I am really delighted to get through. Delighted for our support who came down in big numbers on a terrible night to see their team getting through.

“Hopefully we are looking back at that tie come the later stages saying how important it was getting through that night in Ayr.

“I thought the best team got through on the night but I also thought our opponents showed why they are now in the Championship.

“I thought the referee did magnificent tonight because he was not fooled by the penalty claims. Spot on decisions. Our players have done nothing wrong.

“Wes Burns was playing his own game tonight with the crossbar! He was unplayable at times. You see the pace, positivity and confidence the boy has got. When he gets into full flow he is so easy on the eye. He has had a couple of great strikes and deserved a goal. He did so well for the first goal. On a horrible night he lit the game up. His attitude was second to none.

“I remember I went and watched Wes play for the Welsh U20s on similar horrible night on a horrible pitch at Newport and he put in an absolute top performance and his attitude was superb, just like it was tonight.

“I said our supporters would love Wed when we signed him because of the ability, his work rate and his attitude.

“As I say every time we missed a chance or hit the bar you start to think that maybe it is going to be one of those nights. Thankfully the players, Wes included were good enough to get the job done.

“It has been a very tough schedule with three very tough trips. There has been a real physical demand on the players. We now have our fourth game in nine days coming up with Hearts on Saturday. We will gather ourselves together and go again. It is another very big game. We will need to be at our best to win but hopefully a big crowd can help us get a result.”

“It has been a very tough schedule with three very tough trips. There has been a real physical demand on the players. We now have our fourth game in nine days coming up with Hearts on Saturday. We will gather ourselves together and go again. It is another very big game. We will need to be at our best to win but hopefully a big crowd can help us get a result.”