CONTE TURNS FOCUS TO PREMIER LEAGUE

AFTER a performance like the weekend’s when Dundee United only just scraped a home draw with a part-time Dumbarton side, whose definition of success for this season is avoiding relegation, it may not seem like it but there is good news for Dundee United fans.

ANTONIO Conte turned his attentions t o Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Arsenal after a “perfect” Champions League return for the Blues.

Chelsea beat Azerbaijan’s Qarabag 6-0 in Group C, with sterner tests to come against Atletico Madrid and Roma.

“Now we have to continue,” said head coach C o n t e a f t e r C h e l s e a ’s second of seven September games.

“We have to rest and then to start to think about the next game, a strong game, a tough game against Arsenal (on Sunday).”

Eden Hazard played 32 minutes against Qarabag, in just his second Chelsea appearance of the season following a broken ankle.

The Belgium playmaker tore through the Gunners in February with a stunning solo goal in a 3-1 win, but Conte i s yet t o decide whether Hazard will start.

“We must have a bit of patience with him and to try to give the possibility for Eden to recover very well,” Conte added.

“We must be calm and to do the best for the player and for the team.

“Otherwise we risk a bad injury to delay the situation. This is the right way. This process is good for him.”

Pedro, Davide Zappacosta, Cesar Azpilicueta, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Michy Batshuayi ensured a comfor table return to Europe’s elite. The sixth was bundled in by a combination of Batshuayi and Maksim Medvedev.

For a start, despite the weekend travails, their team sits just two points off the top of the Championship and, such is the cutthroat nature of this division, it’s not inconceivable victory at Falkirk on Saturday will see them end the day back in first place.

And a glance at some of the names in Ray McKinnon’s squad, ones like Willo Flood, Scott McDonald, James Keatings, Billy King, Sam Stanton, Fraser Fyvie and Scott Fraser, tells you there is enough quality for them to live up to their pre-season billing as strong favourites for promotion.

Without question such players have the ability to be at the top of the Championship.

On top of that, with no fewer than 14 new arrivals over the summer months, it should perhaps have come as no surprise this season’s team was going to need some time to gel.

Indeed, the early signs that would happen were encouraging. United did breeze through their Betfred Cup qualifying group and if exit at the hands of city rivals Dundee in the first knockout round was painful, on the night they were by no means disgraced.

None of that, though, changes the fact in recent outings the team has not performed as well as they should have.

They did open the league campaign with three victories but in the third of them, an uninspiring single-goal home success over Brechin City, signs things were not right were there for all to see.

That was confirmed in a below-par performance when United were well beaten at St Mirren. To an extent it continued the following week with a Betfred Cup clash with Alloa when two late goals were needed for victory.

It should be said it was a much changed line-up that day as manager Ray McKinnon used what is a largelyirrelevant competition to give a string of teenagers top-team experience.

That couldn’t change the fact that, on paper, the line-up still should have been too strong for League One opponents.

With the team back to full strength against Dumbarton at the weekend, the

James Keatings spared United’s blushes with a late equaliser against Dumbarton on Saturday. Billy King (right) is one of many experienced players manager Ray McKinnon has