Upbeat Mcnamara tips United to bounce back

DUNDEE United manager Jackie Mcnamara has backed his side to come good in today’s Ladbrokes Premiership league game with Celtic in the wake of their Hamilton humiliation.

United host Ronny Deila’s side at Tannadice and will be aiming to make amends for last weekend’s 4-0 thrashing from Accies at New Douglas Park.

Mcnamara himself came under pressure from angry United fans for the manner of their display but he is confident his players can bounce back in the televised lunchtime meeting.

Mcnamara said: “It’s all about moving on from the Hamilton game. Make no mistake, it’s a great game to be involved in against Celtic. Any player wants to test themselves against the best and that’s how we’ll be looking at this match.

“It should be a cracking atmosphere as Celtic will bring a good crowd as they always do. We will get tested properly on Saturday, that’s for sure, so we need to make sure we start properly and with high intensity.

“The atmosphere was a bit flat in the Hamilton game compared to the derby match with Dundee a few days earlier when there was a lot of intensity. But it will be different against Celtic and we’ve got to be ready for it.

“We were very disappointed with the football side of things last Saturday. But it’s up to us to try and put it right come Saturday and I’m confident we’ll see a positive reaction. We’ve had one bad result this season so far so we don’t panic. We know what we’re capable of and want to produce that kind of display.”

United may be boosted by the return of the long-term injured Ryan Dow. The winger has been sidelined since the end of last season but Mcnamara insists he is getting closer to a top-team return.

He said: “Ryan is training again with us so might have an outside chance of being in the squad for Saturday.”

However, defender Callum Morris (Achilles) and striker Mario Bilate (hamstring) are out while Dutch summer signing Rodney Sneijder is still in Holland after undergoing tests on a virus.