Assistant boss Stevie Frail says Dundee United “have no divine right to beat anyone” after hailing the 1-0 victory over Kelty Hearts in the Betfred Cup.
The Tangerines went into the clash at Tannadice on the back of a shock 1-0 home defeat to Peterhead that put them on the brink of elimination from the competition.
However, Nicky Clark’s debated strike on the cusp of half-time put his side level with St Johnstone and Peterhead at the top of Group C.
And Frail says it was all about improvement from the Blue Toon defeat. He said: “It’s a great win.
“We were up against a team who are well-drilled and will consider themselves unfortunate not to get promotion last season.
“So we knew it would be difficult, especially on the back of last Saturday when we lost here to Peterhead.
“We had plenty of possession, a few decent chances but it was just good to get the win.
“We’ve done a lot of talking since the weekend as we’ve no divine right to beat anyone but we have to do better than we did on Saturday.
“Tonight was about getting a performance which I think we got.
“It’s hard to play against a team that want to sit behind the ball and make it difficult so it was a good win for us.
“Obviously you want to score more goals.
“We scored six against Brechin but this time, in terms of possession and limiting Kelty to very little, we had a better game last night.
“It would have been nice to score more goals because it can always be nervy at the end.
“But it’s just good to get the victory.
“Now we face Aberdeen, who are bang in form, this Saturday and we’re looking forward to it.”
Kelty boss Barry Ferguson, meanwhile, felt his Lowland League champions deserved more.
“I’m a bit disappointed we didn’t get anything but I’m proud of their efforts,” he said.
“It wasn’t ideal coming into the game as we were minus three main players for a start.
“But we had a game-plan and I thought we finished the game stronger than Dundee United – and they are a top-six Premiership side in my eyes.”