HARKES AND SPARKS

Ian: Rivals Dundee will be gunning for revenge so we must be at our best

DUNDEE UNITED ace Ian Harkes has warned his side that rivals Dundee will be hell-bent on revenge this Friday.

Harkes helped Robbie Neilson’s Premiershipbound outfit gear up in style for this weekend’s third Tayside showdown of the season with the final goal in Saturday’s 4-0 demolition of 10-man Ayr which kept them riding high at the top of the Championship.

The table-topping Tangerines are seeking to pile more misery on their fourth-placed bitter foes, who already trail them by a sizeable 17 points, when they go head-to-head in Friday night’s televised Tannadice clash.

United are red-hot favourites to inflict further pain having demolished the Dark Blues 6-2 at Tannadice back in late August, before strolling to a 2-0 victory at Dens Park in early November.

But midfielder Harkes has told his team-mates to beware of James McPake’s visitors who’ll be bidding to get their own back.

Harkes said: “It is the next game that matters and that’s against Dundee.

“It’s pretty simple – we have to keep going and get another three points on Friday. Of course, it’s going to be tough. Every time we play them they are going to be up for it.

“In the city, you want the bragging rights and we have had them so they will want to get back at us.

“They will be hoping to climb the table so we need to be ready.”

United continue to sweep all before them at Tannadice and this latest win over their depleted visitors on Saturday made it nine consecutive league wins at home since the campaign got underway.

Sam Stanton broke the deadlock just before halftime and they were helped by the dismissal of Somerset Park player-boss Mark Kerr, who walked in 57 minutes having brought down Stanton for a penalty before receiving a second yellow by referee Greg Aitken for dissent.

Lawrence Shankland swept home the resultant spot-kick and further strikes from Nicky Clark and Harkes completed the rout.

The Championship leaders will once more run out to a thunderous 13,400 capacity crowd who’ll be urging them on to finish 2019 in style against Dee.

And 24-year-old playmaker Harkes, who joined the Tayside club almost a year ago from MLS outfit DC United, knows the home fans have a huge part to play in their pursuit of a hat-trick of derby victories this term.

He said: “The atmosphere at the last derby here was unreal.

“It has been a massive thing to have them behind us and hopefully they will be right behind us on Friday again.”

Harkes’ goal in the dying minutes acted as an early Christmas present for his most loyal followers, and the fans’ favourite admits he’s on a personal mission to become more prolific.

He said: “My mum, dad and sister were here. They are in Dundee for Christmas for the first time.

“They were all telling me to shoot so I was happy to get a goal for them.”