Dark Blues have had their fill of derby woe

DUNDEE boss James McPake last night ordered his players to cut out the horror mistakes which have caused them double derby misery so far this season. McPake has been powerless to watch his side slump to a 6-2 mauling at Tannadice back in late August as well as a 2-0 defeat in the return fixture in November at Dens Park more recently. On both occasions, the Dark Blues have been their own worst enemies by shooting themselves in the foot and their manager insists they can ill-afford to do so again if they are to avoid a third straight defeat at the hands of the Championship leaders. McPake said: ‘Even in the last one I don’t think there was much quality in the game for both sides. ‘We gifted them a penalty through a bad decision and then gave them the second goal as well. We gave away a penalty in the first one as well but that was just a slip. ‘In big games like this one, you just can’t do that. ‘We also have to be clinical in dealing with the situation we will find ourselves in. We failed in the last one to do that. You don’t have to give good teams anything because, if you do, they will hurt you. We need to be at it. ‘United will be thinking the same because they know we can hurt them with the firepower we’ve got.’ Tannadice boss Neilson insists he enjoyed the Dens victory more than the more emphatic 6-2 win at Tannadice earlier in the season — but still expects their city rivals to be like a wounded animal tomorrow. Neilson, whose side can move 20 points clear of McPake’s men with a victory, said: ‘I actually thought the game at Dens was better for us. ‘I thought we controlled it more. The scoreline in the first derby at Tannadice was great but, when you actually looked at the whole game, we probably weren’t in as much control as we’d like. ‘In the second game at Dens, we looked quite strong and it’s difficult to go to your rivals and have quite a bit of the game. ‘Friday night will be 200mph. Dundee are a very good team and they’re on the back of two wins on the bounce. ‘They’ve got a lot of good players and strength in depth coming off the bench. We know it’s going to be a very hard game.’