McDONALD PLEA FOR QUICK APPOINTMENT

SCOTT McDONALD has urged Dundee United to avoid any delay in appointing a new manager after Ray McKinnon’s departure left the players in limbo. The former Celtic and Motherwell striker insisted the Tannadice squad accept the blame for McKinnon’s exit on Tuesday and acknowledged there is massive pressure on the club ahead of today’s trip to Dumbarton. The 34-year-old knows victory is required to lift the mood at the club and keep United in touch with leaders St Mirren, who they host next weekend. But with Laurie Ellis in interim charge as interviews take place — with ex-Hibs boss John Hughes the frontrunner for the post — McDonald hopes for a quick appointment. He said: ‘We’ve let the club down, and we’ve let the manager down more importantly — he’s lost his job. Of course we feel a responsibility. The manager can only do so much but it’s up to the players. ‘Once you cross that white line you’re playing for yourself, your team, your family and your manager. So, we have to be held accountable as well. ‘As a player, you want the situation sorted as quickly as possible. You want to move forward with new leadership. ‘Until that happens, then it’s a little bit up in the air. As much as you stay professional, you want someone through that door as quickly as possible.’ United sit in fourth spot, five points adrift of St Mirren with only a quarter of the season gone. McDonald, signed in the summer in a high-profile recruitment drive along with the likes of Fraser Fyvie, Billy King, Tam Scobbie and James Keatings, is confident they can still return to the Premiership. He added on Arabzone: ‘We need to get promoted this season, that’s the complete remit, and we want to win this championship very badly. ‘We’ll still be looking to do that. Thankfully, we’re still within touching distance and we’ll be looking to put a lot of wrongs right on Saturday against Dumbarton. ‘We’re all good players but at times we haven’t shown we’re a good team, and that’s the disappointing thing. ‘We need to get that right, collectively, and hopefully we can do that come Saturday.’