The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Souttar ready to be Jags fan for day
EUROPE: United midfielder wants a favour from Highland conquerors
John Souttar will be roaring on Inverness Caley Thistle in the Scottish Cup final if victory means European football for Dundee United.
Souttar, who had another excellent match in midfield for the Tangerines despite finishing on the losing side in the Highlands on Tuesday, accepts that only one route to continental competition remains open for them.
ICT’s 2-1 win at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium moved the home team seven points ahead of United with just three Premiership games to play.
John Hughes’ men can wrap things up when they visit Dundee on Saturday, while the Tangerines will be in Perth battling it out with St Johnstone in the race for fourth spot at McDiarmid Park.
Finishing where they currently sit will be good enough to secure European football for Souttar and his colleagues if Inverness beat Falkirk in the final at Hampden on May 30.
So if United can do their job by staying ahead of Saints, he will be gathering in front of the TV to cheer on the Caley Jags.
He said: “Inverness only need one win and that will be them in third so we need to be realistic.
“That’s disappointing but we have to concentrate on trying to keep fourth place now.
“We must also hope Inverness win the Scottish Cup.
“Then we would all be Caley Thistle fans when the final is on.
“It’s disappointing that qualification for Europe is not in our hands anymore but we just have to accept that and hope for the best.
“We must go to McDiarmid Park and get a good result now.”
We must also hope Inverness win the Scottish Cup
While Souttar dealt well with the terrible conditions in Inverness and was named by boss Jackie McNamara as the best player on the park, he admitted the water did raise concerns over players injuring themselves.
“The conditions weren’t the best but that’s Scotland for you and you just need to deal with it,” he added.
“There were patches on the pitch where the ball was sticking but I don’t think it was too bad.
“Early on there were a few tackles flying in and you thought there was maybe going to be an injury.
“That didn’t happen and I think that was because of the players being clever with their challenges after that.
“You have to look after yourself first and foremost and not go flying in.
“Realistically, it is not worth getting an injury and being out for six months just to win a 50-50 tackle in the middle of the park.”
United got some help from the sodden surface for their goal, with the water holding up a passback that was cleared but fell to the feet of Robbie Muirhead, who lobbed the ball into the net from 45 yards.
Going 1-0 up after just a couple of minutes was an ideal start but Inverness crept more and more into the match as time ticked by.
Souttar said: “It was a great finish from Robbie and we really hit the ground running.
“It didn’t take us long to adapt to the conditions but the game gradually turned.
“We are a young team and we have to learn from stuff like this.
“We need to be wiser when we play some teams and realise that you can play too many short passes and sometimes need to go long.
“That will come as the younger boys get more and more games under their belt.”