The former Dundee central defender admitted he was glad the events of the previous day were over and he, along with fellow-coach Tony Docherty, could now get down to preparing the team for Saturday’s visit of Celtic.

And, as he bids to make the manager’s job his own, Gordon also made it clear the Dundee United players would be finding out in no uncertain terms of what was required over the coming weeks.

“We spoke to the players yesterday and it was very, very quiet. But that’s understandable,” said Gordon this morning.

“We basically told them what we would be looking for between now and the end of the season and also asked them to reflect upon what has already happened this season.”

The interim boss believes the current squad have the ability to claw themselves off the bottom of the SPL, but only if they apply themselves properly — a point he was keen to get across.

“I know these players are good enough to get us out of the situation we find ourselves in, but, to do that, we have to get much more out of them and they should be looking to get more out of themselves.

“We have nine or 10 cup finals coming up and it’s vitally important we show the right attitude and commitment in each one.”

Gordon’s first priority today was getting the squad prepared for the game against Celtic, and he admitted his baptism in the Tannadice hot seat couldn’t have been much tougher.

He also revealed he would be talking to Mark Wilson over the course of the week regarding the penalty-taking situation. Wilson missed from the spot at Kilmarnock last Saturday — his second successive failure from 12 yards.

“It’s going to be difficult, but we have to go into the game organised and with the right belief and attitude. If we can do that, then we can be reasonably optimistic of taking something from it,” added Gordon.

“As far as penalty taking goes, I’ll speak to Mark over the next few days to see how he feels about it. But he’s a confident boy and, knowing him, he’ll still want to take them.

“Saying that, we have plenty of experienced players who are more than capable of stepping in if they have to.”

Long-term injuries apart, United only have one or two minor knocks after last Saturday’s trip to Rugby Park.

United’s scheduled reserve game against Celtic at Station Park, Forfar, was postponed.

“Joel prefers to play in central defence, but I spoke to him when he first came here and told him that I thought he had enough pace and mobility to also play at full-back or in midfield,” said boss Jim Duffy today.

“We always knew it was going to take a bit of time with Joel. He’s just a young lad and this season was always going to be a learning curve as he tried to establish himself.

“However, I thought he did very well on the right-hand side on Sunday against Vignal and Ball, who are both very experienced players.”

Meanwhile, joining Steven Robb on the absent list today was Stevie Lovell.

The striker was forced to come off a few minutes before the end of Sunday’s game following a collision with Ibrox central defender Marvin Andrews.

“Big Marvin seemed to fall on the back of Stevie’s leg and he’s feeling a bit of pain in his lower calf, which forced him to miss training today,” added Jim.

“Steven Robb also missed out today as he is still feeling a bit weak after a virus, but, hopefully, he’ll be able to do a bit of work tomorrow.”

Dundee’s reserve game this afternoon against Aberdeen at Links Park, Montrose, was called off due to the weather.

Kevin’s namesake, Martyn, made his return from injury in last night’s 5-0 away reserve win over Arbroath and looks to have passed the test.

The same applies to striker Stephen Dobbie, on loan from Hibs. He played for over an hour of the match and came through OK.