Despite a 2-1 defeat, teenager Kevin McDonald picked up the Man-of-the-Match award and the likes of Scott Robertson, Paul Dixon, Gavin Swankie and Gary McKenzie all had good nights in front of the TV cameras.

McDonald, in particular, has been attracting a lot of attention and, having shown in front of a national audience just how big his potential is, that is set to increase.

While he expects that, the manager has made it clear would-be buyers are not welcome.

“I thought that, collectively, we were very good and not just the young players did well. They get the attention, though, and I know it will continue after this,” said Alex.

“What I would like is to hang on to them, help them be successful here and get to a higher level without moving. If we can maintain the levels we showed last night, we can get to where we want to be and then maybe we have a chance of enticing them to stay.

“Only time will tell with that, but one thing I do know is that we are in a position where we do not have to give anyone away and, if someone was going to get any of my players, they would have to be paying big money.”

A bigger issue for Alex today was getting through to his men that they have now set a standard that must be maintained if a successful promotion challenge is to be mounted.

“They now know what is required just to compete at the highest level. That’s what’s needed to survive against Premier League teams and it is also what is needed if we are going to get out of the First Division.

“I was really pleased with a lot of our play and the boys showed they have ability.

“But, in the end, it was a defeat and one game, so we are not getting carried away. What I want is to see is us playing like that and winning most Saturdays.”

In addition to the result, the other big disappointment on the night was the final-minute sending-off of striker Jan Zemlik for picking up two bookings — he will miss the first round of next season’s competition.

While no firm confirmation has been received, it seems referee Ian Brines produced the second yellow for dissent and that has left people at Dens perplexed.

“Jan still does not speak any English, so, unless the referee speaks Czech, it cannot have been for something he said. He did put his fingers together to signal that it had been a coming together and he had not fouled the Celtic player and, if that was taken as dissent, it seems harsh,” added Alex.

Defender David Worrell limped off with a hamstring injury in the first half and is now a big doubt for Saturday’s home clash with Morton.

Throughout the 90 minutes, Gordon Strachan’s team struggled at set-pieces and, while that’s an area where United have been particularly strong this season, the Tannadice gaffer stressed this weekend will be about his players rising to the occasion.

“I’m not going to give away our game-plan, but, what I will say is that, when we went to Celtic last season and did reasonably well, it was because we made the most of the opportunities we had,” he said.

“Against Rangers and Celtic, you do not get too many chances and usually games against them come down to whether or not you take the few you do.”

Skipper Barry Robson is expected to recover from his dead leg and that means he is likely to be used as a stand-in for the injured Christian Kalvenes at left-back for the second game running.

“Barry did well there at Falkirk on Tuesday and, while it is not ideal because we miss him higher up the pitch, I’m seriously thinking about keeping him there,” added Craig.

“Christian is making good progress and there is a chance he will be ready for Motherwell next week, though I have to say I am not convinced he will be. If he does miss it, he will definitely be ready for the first game after the international break.”

United have confirmed they are in talks with Berwick Rangers about young midfielder Danny Swanson. A deal should be concluded in the near future and he will join up at Tannadice when the transfer window opens in January.