Utd won’t be going to Hibs on a downer

THE end of a long unbeaten run and a second defeat in four months at a venue where they were expected to secure victory.

Defeat at Dumbarton on Saturday was a frustrating way for Dundee United to end 2016 but don’t dare suggest to anyone at Tannadice they’re going into Friday’s crunch clash with Hibs on a downer.

The Tangerines are up for this one and before they left the Cheaper Insurance Direct Stadium at the weekend the focus was 100% on what lies ahead.

That’s the message from midfielder Stewart Murdoch this week.

He had mixed emotions after the Sons clash. There was delight at returning to the starting line-up for a first league game since a knee injury suffered in September.

But there was also annoyance at seeing United’s 14-game run without a loss come to an end and three valuable points dropped.

“It was a long period out, so it was great for me to be back in the team but, obviously, in the end, the result made it a disappointing day for all of us,” said the 26-year-old.

“But that’s me back to full fitness and that was a plus. I’ll be available for selection every week and it’s important I play as many games as I can. Now we want to get back to winning ways.

“Losing was a sore one because we wanted go to Dumbarton and put down a marker, show we can go to places like that and get results.

“But the unbeaten run was always going to end at some point, it was just disappointing it was my first league game back in the starting line-up.

“It’s one of those things in football, though, you get another game coming quick. We’ve got one on Friday, so it’s a great chance for us to bounce back.”

Dwelling on the last game just a few moments longer, Murdoch is at pains to point out, as unhappy as United were with their performance, this was not an exact repeat of when they lost at Dumbarton in August on a day when the 1-0 reversal was exactly what they deserved.

“This time we were pretty much