Thompson believes United are in need of silverware boost

Steven Thompson has no problem when it comes to choosing which of his former clubs he wants to win today’s Irn-Bru Cup final.

The former Scotland striker may have started his career at Tannadice but he was a boyhood Buddies fan and is a regular at the 2021 Stadium when he’s not working as a pundit for the BBC.

He was there 10 days ago when St Mirren, the Championship’s bottom club, beat United 3-2.

He admits he was stunned by how poor Ray McKinnon’s side were that night.

“I was at the game in Paisley last week and I was pleasantly surprised by how well St Mirren played,” admitted the 38-year-old.

“However, I was absolutely shocked by United’s display, particularly their defending.

“United have Tony Andreu in the team, who stands out like a sore thumb and shouldn’t be playing at that level.

“They have some quality players middle to front but their defence was all over the place.

“The goals they lost that night were really poor so that’s a big concern.”

Automatic promotion for United now looks unlikely and Thompson believes that the club desperately needs the boost that silverware would give them.

“Now they have this cup final and I think United’s biggest problem is the expectation levels of the support,” he claimed.

“When they went on that great run before Christmas at the top of the table, their fans thought that they were going to go on and win the league.

“But, when you think about how Ray had to scramble around for new players last summer and how much smaller their budget is compared to Hibs, then that isn’t realistic.

“If (United chairman) Stephen Thompson was being honest then taking part in the play-offs should always have been the aim and they will get there.

“For me, they’ll then have done what they set out to achieve.

“Ray has been getting a lot of stick but he wanted to bring more players in during the January window because he knew things weren’t right.

“I feel for him but there’s no doubt that they are underperforming.”

Thompson also claims that Saints’ home game against secondbottom Ayr next weekend is a far bigger game for them than today’s showpiece.

“For me, this cup secondary,” he insisted.

“As a St Mirren fan, we can enjoy the occasion and it will be a great day but Ayr’s visit next weekend is the bigger game by far.

“Silverware would be fantastic but it doesn’t matter.

“Hibs are in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup but Neil Lennon would toss that trophy in the Clyde if he could be guaranteed promotion instead. “It’s the same for Saints. “They haven’t been off the foot of the table for over six months and a win over Ayr would change that.

“After that, there are enough games left to go and chase Raith Rovers down and then they wouldn’t even have to worry about the play-offs.

“If you’d offered manager Jack Ross the play-offs four weeks ago he’d have taken it. Now, I think they’ll believe they can escape that.” final is