The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Mixu’s passion was evident
You could see how much it meant to Mixu when that third goal went in
It was certainly a weekend of wildly-contrasting fortunes for the two Dundee teams. United, of course, secured a last-gasp Scottish Cup quarter-final victory up in Dingwall against Ross County while the Dark Blues were dumped out of the same competition by a rampant Rangers side at Ibrox.
The United result showed once again that the club looks to be on the up. I have felt that in every performance and result recently.
Mixu Paatelainen had to be allowed time to develop and implement a lot of things he wanted to change after becoming manager.
It was a slow, building process but over time, results have got better and they have to keep it going now.
The two victories up at Ross County within the space of a week show that United can win away from home and doing so on Saturday while down to 10 men will give Mixu’s men a massive lift.
You could see how much it meant to Mixu when that third goal went in. He is a winner and you saw the passion he has for United, a club he previously played for.
His players now have a great chance to make it to the cup final, playing against the winner of the Inverness v Hibs replay but the main focus will remain on staying in the Premiership.
It was good to see Mixu picking up the Manager of the Month award for February but he was probably right to play it down a bit while talking up the contribution of Paul Paton who won the Player of the Month accolade.
The midfielder has made a difference since he returned from injury.
Of course, the upturn in fortunes also came after club chairman Stephen Thompson had his blast at the players for under-performing when they were beaten 3-0 at home by Motherwell but I think that is just a coincidence.
I felt changes were happening anyway before that but United now face the same opponents on Friday night at Fir Park and they could cut the gap on Kilmarnock to just five points if they can win.
They can’t afford to think too much about Killie though, instead they just have to concentrate on their own game.
I think the fans are seeing that this new Mixu team can win matches and even if they do go behind, they can come back, something that was not happening earlier in the season.
However, there was certainly no way back for Dundee after they lost a goal with just 13 seconds on the clock at Ibrox on Saturday with Rangers cruising to an emphatic 4-0 win.
The result was a desperately disappointing one from a Dark Blue perspective as expectation levels were so high that they could win there and progress into the semi-finals.
Those expectations were probably also one of the reasons Dundee lost. In the past when they went to Ibrox they were underdogs and, as such, they would not give their opponents an inch and would be in their faces.
This time, instead of trying to stop Rangers playing, they went there expecting to win.
The home side though didn’t give them a chance to settle, and players such as Kenny Miller, who has performed at the highest level, showed they still have plenty to offer.
Rangers looked like they had a point to prove, to show that while they may be in the Championship, they are still as good or better than a side in the Premiership.
I also think that is one of the reasons Leicester are doing so well this season in the Premier League – despite being at the top of the table, they go out playing every game as if they are the underdog.
Sharapova shocker
I was shocked and disappointed when I heard the news that tennis star Maria Sharapova had revealed she failed a drugs test at the Australian Open.
The Russian tested positive for meldonium, a substance she has been taking since 2006 for health issues.
It only became a banned one on January 1 and Sharapova insists she simply made a mistake.
At the moment, she is not guilty and she may have made a genuine error.
However, as an athlete, even if you take something as innocent as vitamin C, you have to let the authorities know.
If Sharapova has not declared in the past that she had been taking meldonium, then she could be looking at a four-year ban from the sport.
Even if it is shown to be a mistake, then she will still be facing a possible two-year ban.
Either way, it’s a disastrous story for the golden girl of tennis and her sport in general.