That left a question mark over the already-postponed tie and further doubt was cast by the SFA, who were monitoring weather warnings of severe gales and heavy rain for parts of Britain this evening.

“We are very conscious of that, and the safety of the teams and the spectators is of paramount importance to us. Right now, the warnings are for the north-west, but we appreciate weather forecasting is not an exact science and that is why we called for a further check,” said association press officer Andy Mitchell.

While this was leaving it to the last minute for fans planning to make the journey from Dundee — only half those who were allocated 600 free tickets are expected to travel — the United team had no option other than to head south.

“There is not a lot we can do about the situation other than make sure we prepare properly for the game, so we’ve headed down there,” said boss Ian McCall.

It is understood, though, that given the warnings of winds of up to 80 mph in the general area tonight, United’s feeling is that it might have been safer to call the game off first thing this morning. That view was backed up by horrendous conditions south of Glasgow this afternoon, as torrential rain and high winds made driving extremely difficult.

Meanwhile, a weekend of cup shocks on both sides of the border will ensure United do not take Gretna lightly.

A waterlogged pitch gave the Tangerines a day off on Saturday, and striker Stevie Crawford watched with interest as news of several shocks in the FA and Scottish cups came through.

“You had results like Exeter drawing at Man. United and a few big clubs down there getting knocked out by teams from lower leagues,” he said. “Up here, you also had a couple of results that will have raised a few eyebrows and that tells you that no one can afford to be complacent in the cup.”

That is something United will not be guilty of against a team they know would probably do well in the First Division.

“To be honest, I do not know a lot about them as a club other than their owner being a millionaire who has put a bit of cash in.

“Individually, I know David Bingham well and big Andy Smith, too. David is a great footballer, which has been shown in the goals he has scored, and he is one we will have to keep an eye on. And, when you look at the league table, you see that Gretna have pulled out a massive gap at the top of their league. At this stage of the season, you have to respect that. They are ambitious and this is a massive game for them, so we do not expect an easy time.”

Already CIS Cup semi-finalists, United’s own ambitions also stretch to a good run in the Scottish, but, despite being a finalist with Dunfermline last term, Crawford prefers to take things one tie at a time.

“Obviously, when you look at the squad we have, you would say there is the ability to do what Dunfermline did last year. However, to talk in those terms would be disrespectful to Gretna, and dangerous. We are only thinking about this tie and, if we can get through it, then we’ll worry about what is to come.”

The one thing Crawford does not want is another call off to further delay his debut.

“All the boys were disappointed because we had prepared properly for the game, but you cannot legislate for the weather conditions. Now we are just looking forward to getting down there again and playing this time.”

“Hopefully, the game goes ahead alright and we do not have another wasted journey, because there is nothing worse than a game being called off a few times. We’ve got a few important games coming up and we do not want a backlog of fixtures.”

United have denied Collin Samuel is on the verge of moving to St Johnstone, though the Trinidad striker has been told he is free to find another club.

Tickets for next month’s CIS Cup semi-final against Rangers go on sale to season ticket holders tomorrow and Thursday, and will be on general sale from Friday.