Manager on Thursday

03/05/18: “I don’t think being away from home is a disadvantage either, not with the crowd that we are going to take.

Allan Johnston is optimistic going into the play off second leg at Tannadice. Having watched his ten men hold out for a no scoring draw he feels that there was plenty in evidence in Tuesday night’s game to confidently take the road to Dundee.

“ I thought that we were the better team, created the best chances and their goalkeeper was their best player. That kind of sums up the performance.

“It is still a draw and we have a lot to play for. I don’t think being away from home is a disadvantage either, not with the crowd that we are going to take. Seemingly we have sold the Shed End out already, that is 1800 and I imagine that there will be more there as well so that will be great motivation for the players.”

The manager has watched the video of Lee Ashcroft’s sending off and is adamant that the decision made by referee Bobby Madden was the wrong one.

“It is clearly not a sending off, especially when you see it in slow motion. It could have changed the game, it could have been a big factor but the boys showed a lot of resilience in the way they played. They defended well, rode their luck sometimes in the second half as well but we more than deserved a draw.”

The appeal to the SFA against Lee Ashcroft’s red card has been lodged and will not be heard until next week giving him the scope to start on Friday night. The manager commented:-

“You would hope that when the referee looked at it again, a bit of common sense would lead to him rescinding the decision. Nobody likes to admit that they are wrong. That is the problem sometimes, so we will probably have to wait on the (appeals) panel.

“Big Ashy is an important player, he has done really well this year, really consistent so it is great that he is available, it is a major boost to the team especially with the form that he has been on.”

It sounds like full back Ryan Williamson will also be fit to start which is good news after he was forced to come off with an injury in the closing stages of Tuesday night’s game. No such good news about striker Andy Ryan, his hamstring injury will definitely sideline him. Tom Beadling is getting closer to return but big Jean (Yves M’Voto) is back in contention after struggling with an ankle injury.

The manager feels that he does not need to change too much of the game plan at Tannadice:-

“If you look at our recent away form, we have defended well, we are not losing goals and we are still a threat going forward. We just have to make sure that we maintain the standards and the energy levels that we have set.

“Sometimes sitting in you do not use as much energy so the boys are fully focused, desperate for the game and hopefully we can get in the next round.”

Defending well will be paramount and AJ stressed how United have good players that will need credo attention.

“I like Fraser, I think he is a top player and really dangerous. McDonald is experienced and can score goals. We are well aware of their good players but I am sure that they are well aware of us as well.”

The form of keeper Lee Robinson is another positive for the Pars boss:-

“He had another great save, we are not losing goals, we are hard to beat so I’m sure, with the quality players we have going forward, we can cause them problems.”

That is certainly the view of his United counterpart, Csaba László, and the unhappy United faithful are making their feelings about the performance known. That creates added pressure and Allan continued:-

“We have to make sure that we start fast and get our crowd right behind us. I’m sure that he is just trying to protect his players, whether it works or not I don’t know.”

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