The Championship table has Ross County sitting at the top of it, and it would take an end of season Dingwall collapse to deny them the title.
But on current form Dundee United are the best team in the league, Calum Butcher has insisted.
The injury-time equaliser in the Highlands on Friday night was a hammer blow to the Tangerines’ hopes of finishing first and securing automatic promotion.
However, Butcher believes the team should take encouragement from the performance.
“I do think we are the best team in the league now,” he said. “And we do have the best players.
“I don’t think you can argue with that and we are now starting to gel the way we want to.
“We set up the best way, we play the best football but the games are coming to an end and we’re trying to get on the run we need.
“It was always a tough task starting from January but there is no way we will give up now and we will keep going and work hard to get where we should be.
“We are starting to understand each other and play the style of football we want.
“The results haven’t come at times but the performances are getting better – that is what will get us wins.”
The play-offs are looming large but Butcher insisted that motivation for the remaining league fixtures is as high as ever.
He said: “Friday night is a massive game against Ayr because we could end up playing them in the play-offs.
“We want to make sure we finish second and three points on Friday would be a big step towards that.
“We need to keep in touch with Ross County because they are going to drop points. If they do we can still put pressure on them even if games are running down.”
