Alex Smith praised his troops for their courage and commitment after a disastrous week in the club's history. The crisis-torn Tannadice club, who are still without a win in the league, also found themselves with no chairman after Jim McLean sensationally quit after allegedly assaulting a BBC reporter following the 4-0 defeat to Hearts.

But the United players dug deep and could have even left with a point on another day. Under-pressure Smith, however, believes despite being rooted to the foot of the table they have given the club something to build on for the future. Smith said: "I am happy with the way we played and I think it is the first time that we have played in an organised and controlled way. "We stook to the task and we created one or two chances and maybe we could have got something out of it.

"We coped with the pressure and not having the ball for long periods very well and when we did break we looked like we could score. "I can say quite confidently that this is the first time we have been able to say that we have come away from the game with a bit of pride and promise for Dundee United again." ©The Glory Years