MURRAY MAGIC
DUNDEE UNITED caretaker boss Gordon Young insisted he was sure the relegated Tannadice squad would rise to the occasion in Inverness, despite most of the players being told this week they would be leaving the club. The call to show personal pride was answered with a stirring 3-2 victory for the Tayside outfit last night, thanks to a Simon Murray double and Edward Ofere’s strike. Young, whose own future at the club is uncertain, said: ‘I was delighted for the
players. They were the ones who put their bodies on the line. ‘I had no doubts about playing them. I told them before the game their job descriptions were they are professional players. They had a job to do. ‘Every time they go out they are obliged to try to win. Whether it’s professional pride, for their families, for a move, or to show the club they should be considered again.’ Young, who saw his side almost let slip a three-goal lead, grimaced as he relived the nightmare of relegation, a week of savage squad cuts and the exit of manager Mixu Paatelainen. He said: ‘It’s been a horrible week. We’ve had the indignity of relegation at Dundee and the uncertainty around the club. ‘Sometimes these things are written in the stars in football. This game summed it up. We take the lead again and nearly lose it. ‘I think we’ve lost 30 points from winning positions this season but this time they dug in. ‘When we were 3-0 up, the game management is to go the next five minutes and take the game away from the opposition. ‘But we opened the door and put ourselves under more pressure.’ Caley Thistle boss John Hughes claimed his team were superior, but got punished for slackness. He said: ‘I felt we were the better team and dominated from start to finish.’ Meanwhile, Stephen Thompson’s search for a buyer for United will go on after it emerged businessman Hugh Duncan is not interested in taking the club off his hands. The 78-year-old has provided the club with a £1.6million softloan and is believed to be open about helping the stricken club by other means. But Sportsmail can reveal the lifelong fan, a former director of Aberdeen-based energy company the Wood Group, would stop short at making an offer for Thompson’s majority shareholding. Thompson had already spent time in America seeking fresh investment or a new owner for the club before their relegation was confirmed following the defeat by Dundee last Monday.