United defender Watson seeking bragging rights

DUNDEE United defender Paul Watson is relishing a sold-out Dundee derby at Tannadice tonight – and hopes they can be on the right side of the result.

With Arabs having snapped up all the home briefs in less than 24 hours earlier in the month, the Dark Blues’ support l ooks to follow suit for tonight’s live TV game.

That should make for a good atmosphere. However, what centre-back Watson is most concerned about is picking up three points and the all-important bragging rights.

“We had a good result l ast Saturday but the manager’s said to us ‘ that’s done’ and all the focus is on tonight,” the 29-yearold said.

“Hopefully, we can get the win and we want to get the bragging rights, too.

“The home end sold out in record time so it’ll be great.

“Dundee are a good side on a good run so we know it’ll be a difficult game.

“We just need to find a way to get the job done like we’ve been doing recently.

“It’s a massive game and we know what it means to the fans, so we look forward to it and they’ll be backing us to the hilt.”

United go into the clash on a nine-game winning run, 13 points clear at the Championship summit and with a perfect home record so far this season.

However, Watson has sent out a warning they cannot get ahead of themselves as they look to keep their remarkable run going into the new year.

The former Falkirk man said: “We’ve got a good lead at the top but we need to maintain that.

“We have to just take it one game at a time and, hopefully, we can get the job done.

“It’s a big gap at the minute but I think it was Gretna who had a 12-point gap at Christmas and they won it on the last day of the season, so you really need to focus on one game at a time.

“Before you know it, hopefully, it’s done.”

And, ahead of their final game of 2019, asked if he has been surprised by their form, Watson said: “Not with the group of players we’ve got, no.