Courts confident United haven’t broken Covid rules

DUNDEE UNITED last night insisted they had no case to answer to football’s authorities despite a Covid-blighted build-up to yesterday’s 2-0 defeat to Livingston.

The Tannadice side saw their management team and nine first-team players in isolation, and faced heavy criticism for a 49-man squad picture taken, apparently ignoring strict protocols on social distancing.

However stand-in coach Thomas Courts — who works with United’s academy and was being managed remotely from Micky Mellon’s living room — insists the club haven’t put a foot wrong with their zero-tolerance approach to the league’s coronavirus rules.

And he believes the fact they fulfilled the fixture should see them avoid further scrutiny, despite Kilmarnock and St Mirren both being punished with forfeited defeats and fines in midweek for their breaches.

‘There was no discussion about getting the game postponed,’ he insisted. ‘It was never a consideration. We had enough players and we had experience on the pitch.

‘I’m not even sure what the allegations against us are. The last three or four days have been a whirlwind.

‘We’ve been pulling plans together, we have been testing. As far as I am concerned, when I got the remit to get tested and support the players, that was my focus.

‘I have nothing to suggest anything other than the protocols at the club being watertight. I can only go on the evidence of me being an employee at St Andrews and what I am allowed to do, where I am allowed to go, and us constantly barking at the younger players about social distancing and face masks, etc.

‘There’s clearly a narrative at the club that is a zero-tolerance policy.

‘But, as you can imagine, it is really different circumstances that we are all operating in now — and in life in general.

‘We are in an industry that is still operating and all I can do is look after myself as an employee and look after the players to the best of my ability, and I think I have done that so far.’

Courts even joked that he was offended at questions about their squad picture because he wasn’t asked to be part of it.

‘Seriously, though,’ he said, ‘I am outside the first-team bubble and it’s hard to even get close to them. I am at St Andrew’s every day and I hardly even see the players.’

Despite Courts having previous managerial experience with Kelty Hearts, he was happy to be a proxy for Mellon in the dugout yesterday, alongside coach Adam Asghar, son of director of football Tony.

‘The gaffer gave a talk on Zoom before the game,’ revealed Courts, ‘and he was orchestrating everything.

‘Tactical alterations, subs… he had a live feed and direct access to the benchc, so the alterations were hitting us pretty quickly. We were able to act on what he wanted and hopefully we carried that out.

Mellon’s remote efforts were still in vain, however, as Livingston overpowered them after the break with goals from Scott Pittman and Marvin Bartley.

‘We were composed and playing in a controlled fashion,’ insisted Courts. ‘But it really was the proverbial game of two halves.’