Tangerines need to be ruthless at both ends

AFTER struggling to close out the game against Falkirk on Saturday, Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon feels his side need to be fiercer heading towards the play-offs.

The Tangerines put the six goals shipped to Falkirk during prior meetings to one side at the weekend, and could have found themselves a few clear either side of Simon Murray’s opener.

Having looked the better team for much of the game, United unravelled in the dying embers, and were lucky to see the upright deny the Bairns a late winner.

Despite the nervy finish, Ray was keen to focus on the plus points.

“We looked OK, decent,” he said. “We are going to take l ots of positives from that, for 80 minutes at least.

“We probably should have been a couple of goals up, we had chances, we created chances. We just need to keep focused on that.

“But, again, our Achilles heel — we’ve lost a goal from a set-piece. We’ve worked so hard on it but ultimately the guys have got to take the responsibility and mark their men.

“I’m not going to hang anyone out to dry but, as I said to them in the dressing room, that has cost us the game.”

With the play-offs approaching, there’s every chance United will come up against Peter Houston’s men again, and Ray feels Saturday’s contest outlined the key for the promotion push.

“I just think we need to be more ruthless in both ends of the box,” he said. “That’s something that we need to address and, hopefully, move forward with.

“There’s going to be a lot of change until the end of the season. We j ust need to try and keep performances up, keep the guys ticking over and making sure they give more of this kind of performance.”

There were words of encouragement for United’s young contingent too, with McKinnon adding: “It was a nice introduction for Scott Allardice, I thought he acquitted himself very well.

“I really like him. I think the maturity is getting there. He’s a big presence, a good player, and he’s not fazed by anything.

“It’s good for us to get the young players coming through and it gives everyone else in the team a wee lift when that happens.

“I’m delighted for Jamie Robson as well. Everyone forgets he’s only 18 years old and he’s done great, so well done to them.”

Scott Allardice (right) made a good impression on his debut.