BELL BRINGS THE KNOWLEDGE
SCOTLAND’S play-offs are still so new that anyone boasting first-hand knowledge of the knockabout format is treated as a kind of dressing-room oracle. Which is just one more reason why Cammy Bell is so important to Dundee United. The former Rangers goalkeeper suffered agony in the 2015 play-offs as the Ibrox club battled their way past Queen of the South and Hibs — only to be hammered by a 6-1 aggregate loss over two games against Motherwell. If he may not quite have appreciated it at the time, that was a painful lesson for all involved. It was definitely a learning experience for Bell. With Friday’s 3-0 home win over Morton still fresh in the mind and tomorrow night’s semi-final first-leg against Falkirk at Tannadice looming, Bell declared: ‘We are ready for it, we are confident — and the performance in the second half against Morton gives us great hope. ‘Everyone is looking forward to it. We are at Tannadice for the first game and we can’t wait to get going again now. ‘I have been in the play-offs before, so has Tony Andreu and of course the manager (Ray McKinnon) has been in them three times before. ‘You always learn lessons from everything in life, so hopefully that experience we have as players and he’s got as the manager will help us. ‘I speak to the manager a lot. He’s good at listening to people’s input and having ideas bounced off him. ‘I’ve tried to pass on what I learned to him and also to the other players. ‘The sports scientist we have here is great. He will make sure we are recovered well and fresh. ‘But these play-offs are about the mental side of it. ‘It’s all about managing the games. They are over two legs, so it’s not like a league game. ‘We’ve got a good record at Tannadice this season. But it’s not all about Tuesday’s match. ‘You’re aiming to be on top after two games, not just one.’