| The former midfield hard man believes that thought more than anything else should prove an incentive to the home players when Celtic come to Tannadice tomorrow in search of the league flag.
Now a member of the Tangerines coaching staff, “Bow” suffered during his playing days when the Old Firm came to town and clinched the championship, and it is a memory that still rankles.
“I played here in one of those games, against Rangers, and it is not nice at the final whistle watching opposing players celebrating like that on your pitch and their fans being the happy ones,” he said.
“You just want to get off and get away, and I am sure the players will be thinking about that tomorrow. Where the league ends up is nothing to do with them and the best way to keep it that way is by going out and winning.
“As a player, that’s what you are in the game for, not watching others win.”
Meanwhile, Tannadice chief executive Stephen Thompson has revealed the lengths to which some Celtic fans have gone in a bid to get tickets for the game, which is now a sell-out.
The away allocation already sold, the last couple of days saw away supporters converge on the club shop in a bid to get their hands on home end briefs.
“We have gone to every possible length to ensure that only Dundee United supporters got home end tickets and have only sold them to people whose names are on our database,” he said.
“That has not stopped us being inundated with attempts to get tickets. Many fans have been turned away by staff at the shop and we’ve spotted fans outside offering people £50-£60 to go in and get tickets for them.
“We even had one member of staff being offered money that would have been paid direct into their bank account for a hospitality package.
“I would add as well that some of the abuse our shop staff have taken has been totally unacceptable and I would like to thank them for their work in difficult circumstances this week.”
United have also warned that any supporter found to be in the wrong end on Thursday will be ejected.
Meanwhile, on the playing front, Garry Kenneth is likely to be drafted in to central defence in place of Lee Wilkie on Thursday.
“Lee didn’t train yesterday because he has a sore back, but I was unlikely to use him anyway. But Garry’s come in before and done well, so I’ve no problems about him playing,” said boss Craig Levein.
With the season almost over, the manager still hasn’t given up hope of persuading Mark Kerr to stay on. The midfielder is out of contract in the summer and several clubs, north and south of the border, are monitoring the situation.
“I’ve spoken to Mark already, but we’ll sit down again next week and hold further talks,” said Craig. |
