LADBROKES League One title success is still in the sights of Ayr United skipper Ross Docherty after the Honest Men snapped a four-game winless run.

United on Saturday defeated Queen's Park 2-0 at Hampden, although the midfielder admitted it was not up there with their best performances.

Now United, who are joint second on goal difference with Arbroath, host East Fife on Saturday, looking to continue their revival.

Their last home win was against Forfar Athletic on August 12.

Docherty, who took the captain's armband at the start of the season said: "I must admit that was one of our poorer performances. We played better against Raith Rovers and lost and against Alloa but ended up drawing. But sometimes it's not all about performances but grinding out results. The Hampden pitch suited our style of play."

He was delighted with the showing of young goalkeeper Jordan Hart, who got some flak after the defeat in Kirkcaldy and said: "You have to remember Jordan is a young goalie. I would say he sealed the points for us as he not only saved the penalty and the rebound, but also made another couple of great stops for us at important times. It was also good to see Lawrence Shankland scoring another goal. He is a quality player who stands out."

Added the captain: "It's an important game for us on Saturday.

"The target is to take three points at home, although we know it won't be easy against East Fife.

"Our aim is still to win the league - we are six points behind Raith but still have to play them three times and there's a long way to go. We have a good squad.

Manager Ian McCall was encouraged with the result and said: "It's not the best we played but that was a good victory for us. Mind you I didn't think they should have had the penalty - that's the third week one has been awarded against us. Jordan Hart did really well and made some important saves and I was delighted for him. We are coming up to the end of the quarter and the players know the target we have set."

Meanwhile United have been given a boost, with injured trio Alan Forrest, Craig Moore and Paddy Boyle all in line for a possible return on Saturday after recovering well.

However McCall said: "The players are doing well, but I won't rush them as we have a two-week break coming up after the next match. It's been difficult for us having a few key players out."