Dundee United manager Ray McKinnon has played down the “Houstie” factor ahead of Falkirk’s visit to Tannadice.
The return of the Tangerines’ Scottish-Cup winning gaffer Peter Houston to his old club tomorrow will, for many, add extra spice to an already intriguing fixture.
He has already enjoyed success over his former team this season, with the Bairns hitting United twice late on to win 3-1 at their park in mid-September.
However, Houston has not been on McKinnon’s mind.
The United boss said: “It’s not something I think about, to be honest.
“What matters to me is what we have to do to win the game on Saturday.
“A lot of wee things went against us when we played Falkirk down there but hopefully we are in a different position now.
“We are going well and are at home.
“We were right in that game but we lost Lewis Toshney, Willo Flood and Tony Andreu to injury, while Charlie Telfer played on with a knock for the last part of the game.
“We then go caught by sucker punches in the last two minutes of the game.
“It was frustrating because at 1-1 we had a three versus two on the counter-attack so it could have been so different.
“We had problems to deal with in that game but that’s football.
“There were still plenty of positives.”
What Houston can be expected to do is tell his players to have a go at United, in contrast to the often cagey Dumbarton at Tannadice last weekend.
McKinnon said: “We have just watched the game back there and Dumbarton went 4-5-1, with the likes of Tony Andreu man-marked.
“We had chances and played some nice football but they banked it up and made it difficult.
“We got there in the end, though, by chipping away at them.
“The fans were great because at half-time we had missed a few and had they gone against us then that could have given Dumbarton belief.
“However, the supporters were excellent and thankfully we got the result for them.”
