Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Courts ready to Celts as injuries
TAM Courts admits bossing Dundee United has felt like firefighting in recent weeks.
But the Tangerines head coach believes the return to fitness of several top stars will take the heat off his young squad.
United face Celtic tomorrow with just one win in six games to their name.
It has been their toughest run of the season – and has coincided with injuries to key midfield stars Jeando Fuchs and Dylan Levitt.
Motherwell in midweek proved too much for a young United side to handle.
But ahead of the clash with the Hoops at Tannadice, Courts revealed his hopes that the return of his injured stars will see United once again challenge the teams at the top end of the table.
He said: “We’ve actually had a few players back on the training pitch (this week).
“We’ve been trying to get players fit and available over the last few weeks but I think there’s probably a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
“For me, it’s something we don’t want to complain about too much.
“I was brought into this job to give young players an opportunity. You’ve got three academy players on the pitch and a bench full of them on Tuesday night.
“It’s part of their development and part of my development to try to give them that opportunity.
“What we’ve seen is, when we’ve got a full complement of players available, we can be a force for anyone in the league – or at least compete well.
“Tuesday night was probably as poor as we’ve been for quite a long time.
“It probably has felt like a bit of a firefight for the best part of six weeks. That probably ties in with the timescales that people have been out for.
“That has given other players an opportunity and I think I’ve got a better understanding of the squad.
“We’ve still been able to maintain results in that period but I think
Tuesday night was probably a step too far for us.”
Tomorrow’s match looked to be in doubt over damage to Tannadice caused by Storm Arwen.
After inspection, the game was cleared to go ahead, albeit with a section of the ground allocated to Celtic fans closed.
But Courts insists a call-off never came into his thinking, which was entirely focused on the clash.