Pressure is all on Accies now, insists McKinnon

RAY McKINNON believes a season’s worth of pressure has been lifted from his Dundee United players’ shoulders as they attempt to navigate the final promotion hurdle at Hamilton.

As one of two big fish swimming in a shallow Championship pool, United have carried a burden of expectation since last year’s relegation, but McKinnon insists that weight has been transferred to the shoulders of play-off opponents Hamilton Accies.

McKinnon fought to keep his players’ heads up as Hibernian secured a comfortable title win and succeeded in keeping them focused throughout a gruelling play-off schedule that has already featured two-legged ties against Morton and Falkirk.

Held to a 0-0 draw by Accies in the first leg of the final on Thursday night, McKinnon said he is proud and believes it is the Premiership team who face the strain as they attempt to preserve their top-flight status.

He said: ‘There’s always pressure on these games but probably more so on Hamilton now. With the second leg being at home for them, that brings an expectation.

‘We will go there as underdogs. Willo Flood, Blair Spittal, Simon Murray, Thomas Mikkelsen. There’s a real desire to win there.

‘I’ve told the players that we’ve been delighted with them over the last five games, their attitude has been great.

‘They battled on Thursday and we go to Hamilton thinking we have a great chance of promotion. The players have to believe that.’

United ought to have been awarded a penalty in the first leg only for striker Murray to be booked and consequently sent off for diving.

United lodged an appeal that will free Murray to play today but McKinnon insists he will not focus on any grievance issues, adding: ‘There is an injustice there and anything you can use to motivate yourself is good. But it’s about praising them, not kicking them up the backside.

‘We are 90 minutes away from being back in the Premiership and that’s what we focus on.’