DIXON AIMS TO BENEFIT FROM HIGHLANDERS’ FINAL FOCUS

PAUL DIXON insists Inverness Caley are bound to have one eye on their Scottish Cup Final date with Falkirk at the end of this month — and hopes Dundee United can take advantage of that tonight. The Tannadice men travel to the Highland capital on league business to face a Caley side, who are gearing up for the Hampden showdown with the Bairns on May 30. It could yet be a stunning season for PFA Manager of the Year John Hughes and his team — who sit third in the table — as they strive to qualify for Europe for the first time and collect their first Scottish Cup. United defender Dixon, who was part of their 2010 Scottish Cup-winning side, said: ‘People try to say the final is not a distraction — but it is. ‘I don’t care if you are Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo, a forthcoming cup final is always at the back of your mind. ‘It doesn’t mean you don’t give 100 per cent in your other games, but there is always the worry that you could pick up a suspension or a niggling injury that could put you out of the final. ‘It is hard to go out there and not be concerned about those possibilities. ‘All the Inverness boys will be giving 100 per cent because they will all want to impress and play in the final, so it’s a tough one for them.’ This is the first of two crunch clashes with Inverness Caley which United have earmarked as potentially pivotal as they bid to beat the Highlanders and St Johnstone to third place in the Premiership to ensure they will qualify for the Europa League. A win at the Caledonian Stadium in tonight’s rearranged match would see Jackie McNamara’s side move to within a point of Caley after their 1-0 home victory over Premiership runners-up Aberdeen on Saturday. Dixon added: ‘I would imagine these games against Inverness will be key. ‘We are four points behind them at present and, if we can win both our games against them, then we would be in a great position. ‘We are focusing on trying to win all of the games we have left. ‘We had an excellent win over Aberdeen at the weekend and we are now looking to build on that form against Caley. ‘We want to get as high up the table as we can and hopefully back into Europe.’