The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tangerines look forward to home comforts
Dundee United are hoping that their return to Tannadice will re-establish their title credentials.
Although they are still top of the Championship table on goal difference, painful back-to-back defeats on the road haven’t been what you would expect to see from potential champions.
With a 100% league record on their own pitch to protect, defender Troy Brown and boss Robbie Neilson are aiming to take advantage of home comforts against Dunfermline on Saturday and then Partick Thistle the following midweek.
Brown said: “Wherever the next game was going to be (after losing 4-0 to Queen of the South at Palmerston) we need to turn things around.
“It’s a bonus that it’s in front of our own fans, back on the grass.
“As players you want a game as soon as possible to get a reaction. We’ll set out to do that.”
Neilson said: “We’ve had a good points return from our games at Tannadice.
“We’ve played some good football at home and these are two games we’ll definitely be looking to take maximum points from.”
Meanwhile, United and Arbroath have escaped with a slap on the wrists and a suspended fine after a Scottish FA disciplinary hearing.
The Championship duo were hit with notices of complaint following their encounter at Tannadice on September 21.
United won 2-1 thanks to a dramatic late Lawrence Shankland double and both teams had four players booked in a bad-tempered affair.
Tangerines pair Jamie Robson and Calum Butcher, and Arbroath duo Michael Mckenna and James Murphy were cautioned following a first half bust-up that caught the attention of the SFA.
Both were charged with breaching disciplinary rule 204, which insists all clubs must ‘conduct themselves in an orderly fashion at all times during and/or after a match’ and prohibits players and staff from ‘becoming involved in a confrontation’.
After a Hampden hearing the clubs have been hit with a ‘censure’ and a £1,000 fine, which has been suspended until the end of the season.