Honest McGowan bears no grudge against ref Thomson

DUNDEE UNITED defender Ryan McGowan last night denied being a diver, but admitted he harbours no grudge against referee Craig Thomson for booking him for simulation. The Australia international was left incensed when the match official flashed yellow at him after a challenge in the box from St Johnstone substitute Liam Caddis. But while McGowan claims several Saints players admitted the second-half incident could have been a penalty, he refused to castigate Thomson for a decision that could tarnish his name. He said: ‘I definitely wouldn’t have dived if there was no contact and you could see from the reaction (of Caddis) that he was worried it was a penalty. A few of their players agreed that they have seen them given. So I thought it was a bit harsh to get a yellow, but that’s how it goes. ‘I’ve yet to meet a referee who admits he’s made an error but it’s hard because it was a splitsecond decision. I wouldn’t want to be a ref. Sometimes you get them and other times you don’t. It’s swings and roundabouts and I’d never blame him.’ Despite falling six points adrift at the foot of the table, McGowan saw enough in United’s performance in their 2-1 home loss to be confident Mixu Paatelainen’s men can avoid relegation. ‘That’s the best we’ve played in a little while, in terms of our passing and movement,’ he said. ‘It’s fine margins that are losing us games and we need to work on that. But if we play as we did against St Johnstone, then I’m sure we will win more than we will lose. ‘It’s still only November, there are plenty more games to go — and we’ve got a lot of home games coming up. But we need to start winning games, sooner rather than later.’