Jackie has total faith in targeted treasures
FOR Jackie McNamara, t he build-up to a vital Dundee derby has seen two of his star men linked with January moves to Celtic.
Despite the Dundee United boss admitting that such talk unsettled his players 12 months ago, he is assured that both Stuart Armstrong and Nadir Ciftci will be fully focused on the bigger picture on New Year’s Day.
McNamara knows the form of two of his most important players will be key if the Tannadice club are to keep their proud unbeaten run in this fixture, stretching back to November 2004.
‘It’s a compliment, but I just hope it doesn’t unsettle the boys like it did this time last year,’ said McNamara.
‘It’s the same every window, it doesn’t go away. But it wasn’t just one or two players last year. It was six or seven who were linked with moves, the likes of Ryan Gauld and John Souttar, Andrew Robertson, Stuart Armstrong, Nadir Ciftci and Gary Mackay-Steven.
‘ This year so far, it’s been Stuart and Nadir. Nobody else really gets (transfer speculation) in this league, apart from Celtic, but that’s a sign that my players are doing well.
‘I think sometimes the timing could be better. Just before we played Celtic, Stuart was linked with them but came out and played well. So hopefully Nadir can do the same on Thursday.
‘We’ve just got to make sure we focus, settle our players down and reassure them that nothing has happened and that there’s nothing to talk about.’
Earlier this season, Dundee United won 4-1 at Dens Park in the League and then, days later, triumphed 1-0 over Paul Hartley’s 10 men in a League Cup tie at Tannadice.
Both sides go into the match on the back of disappointing defeats, with United losing the chance to make up ground on Cel ti c with a defeat at St Johnstone, while Dundee lost 3- 1 at home t o struggling St Mirren on Saturday.
But McNamara is expecting a classic derby battle between two tribes with a point to prove to their critics.
‘I think Dundee will have that determination on the back of what happened to them at the weekend,’ he said.
‘They had a bad result at home in their last game and I’ve read Paul Hartley’s comments about the derby being a great game to come back into. They will be fired up for it. It’s been over 10 years since they last won a derby and they will be trying to get the f ans back onside after the weekend.
‘But we’re the same. We were very frustrated to lose away to St Johnstone because we felt we were comfortable in the game. We had the chance to close the gap at the top, but didn’t, which is a bigger frustration if you like.
‘Also, our home form has been good this season. We want to keep that going.
‘We know what to expect from them. When we beat them 4-1 at Dens Park in the first derby of the season, there was a big reaction from them in the next game.
‘I would expect this one to be first and foremost a battle. It might be a bit of kick and rush at times and some percentage f ootball being played but hopefully it settles down and we can cause them problems.’
As a player, Hartley found adulation easy to come by at Hearts and Celtic. He famously vaulted into Tynecastle folklore with a memorable Hampden hat-trick against Hibs in a 4-0 Scottish Cup semi-final win in 2006 en route to the Gorgie side beating Gretna in the final.
At Celtic, he and Barry Robson ran the midfield in an April Old Firm double header as Celtic came back from the dead to win the 2008 SPL title.
But success in the Tayside derby as a manager has so far eluded the 38-year-old, even if he has enjoyed its quaint tradition of players walking across the street together to Tannadice.
He hopes to warmly welcome back big- game player Paul McGowan and that the gifted midfielder can inspire his side to record a famous and long-awaited win in the Tayside derby fixture tomorrow.
‘The derbies this season have been really good, even if I haven’t enjoyed t he r esults,’ s ai d Hartley.
‘The atmosphere and some of the play has been excellent in the two games. And the tradition of walking across the road to the stadium is a little bit unusual. We are only 50 yards or so apart.
‘We played well at Tannadice in the League Cup, even though we lost with 10 men, but we will need to be at our best again to get a result against a very strong United team.
‘We’ve missed Paul McGowan. He has been one of our best players this season and hopefully he will be back in contention for the derby.’