No hiding place for hurting McKinnon
DUNDEE UNITED manager Ray McKinnon last night vowed to fight on — but insisted only chairman Stephen Thompson can decide if he is still the right man for the job.
McKinnon watched his title-chasers slump to back-to-back league defeats as his men were booed off following their dismal display against resurgent Inverness at Tannadice.
Abject United went down to goals in the first half from Iain Vigurs and Connor Bell to leave them trailing league leaders St Mirren by five points as they desperately crave a return to the Premiership.
Beleaguered McKinnon was left fearing for his job in the wake of this latest defeat and pulled no punches afterwards, with the directors last night mulling over his future.
McKinnon said: ‘I can understand the supporters’ frustration. We all want the same thing. And they were right to boo at the end.
‘Emotions are obviously high right now. I take responsibility for that performance as much as the players. That’s the worst we’ve played since I’ve been Dundee United manager.
‘We’re not hiding from it. Of course I feel the pressure. There’s been pressure since the day I took the job and there will be pressure next weekend, whether I’m in the job or not.
‘I’d like to think I’ll be here next week but that will be someone else’s decision.
‘I’m very disappointed and frustrated because we’re so much better that that. We shot ourselves in the foot with the goals we lost and then I didn’t see the reaction I wanted after that.
‘We gave ourselves a mountain to climb. We spoke at half-time and we wanted a reaction in that second half, and after about 15 minutes there was no response.’
United were bidding to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat away to Livingston but Inverness threatened after just five minutes when Liam Polworth’s flighted free-kick was met by Carl Tremarco, whose free header went straight into the hands of home goalkeeper Harry Lewis.
Then, just a few minutes later, Polworth delivered a driven corner for striker John Baird, who headed over the bar from just a few yards in another let-off for the hosts.
However, Inverness took the lead on 28 minutes. Polworth’s corner was not properly cleared by Willo Flood and Vigurs rattled a left-foot shot from just inside the box beyond the reach of on-loan Southampton kid Lewis.
United replied almost instantly through Scott McDonald’s left-foot shot following Fraser Fyvie’s set-up, but his effort was brilliantly parried by visiting goalkeeper Mark Ridgers.
The Highlanders, though, doubled their lead in simple fashion on 36 minutes. Jake Mulraney had acres of space to cross for Bell, who only had to tap home from inside the six-yard box.
Inverness remained on top after the break with Joseph Chalmers testing Lewis with a powerful drive within minutes of the restart.
Tremarco had a golden chance to kill the contest on 55 minutes but was thwarted by Lewis from point-blank range as the home fans vented their frustration.
United failed to bring out a further save from Ridgers, who was a virtual spectator while the hosts toiled to even threaten towards the end.
Thrilled Inverness boss John Robertson said: ‘We’ve been playing like that for a few weeks now, but here we really got what we deserved.
‘We controlled the game and scored two good goals. All the hard work they’re putting in on the training ground is starting to pay off. If we can maintain that standard, there’s still plenty of time for us to catch up.’