Dundee United boss Craig Levein today admitted his men should take a leaf out of Hibs’ book (writes Graeme Finnan).

Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Easter Road was a bitter pill for the United gaffer to swallow, especially as his side had gone ahead midway through the first half.

“I was disappointed with the final outcome, because I felt our play merited something from the game,” said Craig.

“I was unhappy with their equaliser right on half-time because I didn’t think it was free-kick in the first place.

“There is nothing I can do about the referee and the decisions he makes, but, what I can do, is work with my own players on the training ground and make sure they try to keep their concentration.

“Hibs have become a difficult team to beat. They’ve been grinding out results and maybe that is a lesson for us to learn.”

Despite that defensive lapse, the manager did take heart from his team’s overall performance, especially that of youngster David Goodwillie. He battled on gamely against towering centre-halves Shelton Martis and Rob Jones.

“There were encouraging things for us in the game. David did well in what was a hard game for him against a couple of experienced defenders. However, he’s still only 17 and has a fair bit to go before he’s the finished article.”

Garry Kenneth and David McCracken were left on the bench, but, as the manager explained, that had more to do with the form of the men in possession of the jerseys.

“Alan Archibald did well when he came in against St Mirren, and I thought he did well again on Saturday. To be fair, I don’t think our centre-backs were the problem.”

Lee Wilkie was also on the bench, although that had more to do with giving the former Dundee man a taste of first-team atmosphere rather than giving him a run.