Dundee defender Julen Etxabeguren says he has not given a second thought to the devastated Dundee United squad after helping to dish out the defeat which relegated them.
The Spaniard and his Dark Blues colleagues kicked their city rivals through the top-flight trapdoor with Monday night’s historic 2-1 victory.
The result came as a hammer blow to United, who now face a huge struggle to reclaim their place in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Boss Mixu Paatelainen paid for this season’s failure with his job while eight players have been told they will not have their contracts renewed in the summer.
And chairman Stephen Thompson has warned there will be further departures from Tannadice as he embarks on a drastic cost-cutting exercise.
But asked if he had sympathy for the next-door neighbours and their players, Dens centre-back Etxabeguren said: “We were just focused on doing our job. That’s all.
“That’s football. Sometimes you are winning, sometimes you are losing.
“You can’t start thinking about the other teams. We were just focusing on our aims.
“Obviously it was a special day for our club and our supporters but we were just thinking about winning the game and I don’t think [the situation at Dundee United] was our concern.”
Etxabeguren started Monday’s game on the bench but was called into action midway through the first-half when midfielder Paul McGowan trudged off with a shoulder injury.
He was asked to sit in front of the Dundee defence despite having not played the protector role since his days in Real Sociedad’s youth team.
But the former East Fife part-timer strolled through the hectic derby battle with his usual calmness and insists he will have no problem standing in for McGowan – who has been ruled out for the final three games of the season – when Paul Hartley’s side take on Hamilton on Saturday.
“It is never nice to come on when a player is injured but I really enjoyed it when I got my chance to play,” said the 25-year-old.
“It was a great atmosphere and a derby day is always special – more so if you win it.
“It is a long time since I have played in midfield. I used to play there when I was in the youth teams in Spain but not in the last six or seven years, so it was quite strange at the beginning.
“Everyone helped me, though, so that made it much easier. I think it went well.
“There was a bit more running than I normally have to do. I’m not used to it but I really enjoyed it.
“I don’t know if I will have to fill in there with Gowser now being out injured. It’s a big loss for the team him being out and hopefully it is nothing serious. But I will try to help the team wherever I can.”
