Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon says his players deserve to be league leaders after all the hard work they have put in over the last six months.
The Tangerines toppled Championship front runners Hibs from the top of the table courtesy of Saturday’s win over St Mirren with the Edinburgh side slipping up against Raith at Easter Road.
United are now two points clear of their promotion rivals and McKinnon acknowledged the pressure on both sides will continue to heat up as the season progresses.
He said: “It’s nice to go into the Christmas period top of the league.
“It’s great for the guys for all the hard work they’ve put in over the past six months.
“I hope they enjoy it, savour it, and try to stay top of the league if they can.
“Hibs are a big club and so are we. Both of us have just got to deal with the pressure.
“I still think there’s more to come from us and I do feel we need to strengthen up front.”
Meanwhile, Simon Murray who netted what proved to be United’s winner, spoke of his delight at the team going top as well as extending their unbeaten run to 14 games.
The striker said: “Our good run continues and it is great to keep it going.
“It is also great to be at the top of the league. They have been leading the whole way but we said when we were behind them that we were not concentrating on that.
“I know we all say it’s one game at a time but that’s what we have got to do.
“We are not playing at our best but we are still winning.
“We are up there and are obviously confident we can do it but we are not thinking too much about it.
“If they are concentrating on us then that is a good thing but we will just keep to ourselves and hopefully be in there at the end of the season.”