Marks to spark a freshstart for United

Reynolds and Connolly pairing can solve turmoil at the back for Tangerines

Mark Connolly is looking forward to being reunited with fellow central defender Mark Reynolds tonight.

The Tangerines looked to have found the perfect partnership when Connolly and Reynolds teamed up at the back for the wins over Morton and St Mirren.

However, the duo broke up when an injury to Connolly ruled him out of the win at Queen of the South, while the decision not to risk Reynolds on artificial pitches meant he couldn’t play against Queen of the South or away to Falkirk on Saturday.

Connolly may have returned to face the Bairns but his day was disrupted when first Frederic Frans then Rachid Bouhenna were carried off injured.

That meant Calum Butcher was his third centre-back partner of the afternoon as the Tangerines were pegged back to draw 1-1.

Hopefully, it will all be a bit more straightforward for the Irishman tonight when Reynolds is expected to join him.

Connolly said: “It will be good to have him back available again.

“The two other lads are now injured so it will be a plus to have someone with Mark’s experience back in the team.

“He is a good player so I am looking forward to playing alongside him against Inverness if the manager picks the pair of us.

“It doesn’t help the defence when you have to change it like we did on Saturday.

“I started off playing with big Freddie but he had to come off and then it was Rachid, only for him to come off after bursting his nose.

“It was difficult but despite that we should have seen the game out.

“We sat off and should have dealt better with the ball into the box at their goal.

“Listen, the positives were that we were the better team for the majority of the game and we had a lot of chances.

“They didn’t really create any chances so obviously when you are 1-0 up you should hang on.

“We were in control of the game, although it certainly wasn’t an easy match.

“It was disappointing that we didn’t win the game because we should have done.

“I guess we take the point and you never know how valuable that could turn out to be.”

United’s draw coupled with Championship leaders Ross County’s comeback from two down to win 4-2 at Partick Thistle left the Tangerines five points behind the Staggies, who also have a game in hand.

Connolly, though, feels all is still to play for.

“A few of the boys might take a look at County’s results – and you do check the table – but I’m not too worried about what they are doing.

“If we can keep going then I will be confident.

“Since I came in, we have played four games, won three and drawn one. That’s not too bad. We have to keep the momentum going.

“We did only draw at the weekend and that was disappointing but we are still on an unbeaten run.

“County will drop points between now and the end of the season and everyone else will drop points too, I would presume.

“It is about trying to capitalise on any slip-ups.”

Tonight’s clash is the first of a Tannadice league and Scottish Cup double against ICT.

Connolly, though, won’t be letting his thoughts stray to Sunday’s quarterfinal.

“We have a big game against Inverness next so we are all looking forward to that,” he said.

“It is a bit strange having two games against the same team so close together but the cup one is definitely on the backburner for the moment.

“The league is the main thing for us and we are fully focused on that. A cup run that meant playing a semi-final at Hampden would be fantastic but that is being put to one side.

“We were right back in training on Sunday so we are all getting prepared for the match.”

Inverness defender Carl Tremarco, who netted the winner against Morton at the weekend, is confident as the Highlanders look to boost their own play-off hopes.

He said: “We seem to do well against Dundee United, maybe because they are a team that like to play and not sit in.

“I think you’ve seen our best performances have come against teams that like to open up and play as much as they can.

“It’s another good test for us, and hopefully we can get the win.”

It will be a plus to have someone with his experience back in the team