McKinnon showed confidence in Utd

RAY McKinnon’s decision to go for victory despite being reduced to 10 men for most of the second half at Raith Rovers on Saturday was a smart move.

And it’s one he could reap the benefits of in the weeks and months to come.

By sending on Simon Murray, going with two up front and trying for all three points, he showed the confidence he has in his players.

That’s a great boost for them. As a player there is nothing better than your manager demonstrating he believes in your ability. It’s all about mindset. When the manager makes a decision that suggests you are up against it in a game, self doubt creeps in. That’s why I always hated when my team was going to Celtic or Rangers and the gaffer changed from our normal set-up to make us more defensive.

I always saw it as close to an admission by them that we weren’t good enough to win that particular game.

I also think trying the unexpected is a good idea and that’s what McKinnon did down at Stark’s Park.

I’m sure when the Raith players saw the red card go up for Lewis Toshney, they thought they’d spend the rest of the game camped in and around the United penalty area.

Suddenly they were faced with a team going with two up front and were having to defend.

It was bound to take them time to adjust to that and, if nothing else, it would have meant some valuable time was eaten up before they got back in their stride again.

As a defender, particularly when I was in a rearguard that was defending well like United have been, I always just wanted the defensive side to be left to us.

Switching to a 4-3-2 formation meant the back four were still being asked to play the way they’ve grown used to over the past few months.

That’s usually easier than having a midfielder or even a striker dropping back to help and changing the system.

Of course, in the end United had to settle for a point, though had Tony Andreu converted his penalty it would have been three.

That doesn’t change the fact McKinnon showed confidence in his men. That will give them a lift.

Raith Rovers’ Jean-Yves M’Voto is chased down by Dundee United attacker Tope Obadeyi.