Jim Goodwin hailed Dundee United’s resilience and team spirit after he watched his side continue their unbeaten start in the Premiership.
Ross Graham got the decisive goal against Hearts in a hard-fought game as the Tangerines climbed to third in the table.
And United boss Jim Goodwin praised his players for a “disciplined” performance at Tynecastle in a game which had very few clear-cut chances.
“All afternoon I felt really confident that they wouldn’t break us down,” said Goodwin.
“I think the lads at the back deserve a huge amount of credit but there’s a lot of work put in by the midfielders as well.
“Obviously as a newly promoted team, you’re not sure how its going to go and we’ve had a very busy summer in the transfer market signing 13 new players.
“You’re always going to be a bit wary in terms of how long it takes some of the international players to adapt to Scottish football – but credit to the players they’ve settled in so quickly.
‘Great team spirit’
“There’s a great resilience within the group and we’re not just delighted that we came away with three points but we also carry that unbeaten run on ahead of the international break.
“Within the group, there’s a great team spirit and that can take you a long way. That’s why we won the game today.”
Hearts enjoyed the majority of the possession in the opening exchanges but the best chances still fell United’s way.
Emmanuel Adegboyega headed over from the penalty spot with just two minutes on the clock before Jort van Der Sande repeated that feat from four yards out.
The Bonaire international will be disappointed not to have tested Craig Gordon in the Hearts goal from a David Babunski cross.
United were dealt a blow just before half-time when Kevin Holt – once again deployed in midfield – hobbled off with Vicko Sevelj taking his place.
Just after the hour mark Goodwin changed the entire frontline, handing a debut to deadline-day loan signing Sam Dalby.
But despite the attacking changes it was Ross Graham who once again popped up with a crucial goal.
With just 14 minutes left to play, the centre-half skipped forward, receiving the ball from Will Ferry on the edge of the box before totally wrong-footing Craig Gordon with a side-footed finish.
The hosts struggled to break down the resolute United backline, with keeper Jack Walton largely untested throughout the 90 minutes.
‘Discipline’ key to United’s unbeaten start
The result sees the Tangerines go into the international break unbeaten in the league after taking eight points from their first four games back in the top flight.
United boss Goodwin hailed the foundation built by his players as they extended their unbeaten run to nine games.
He added: “We’ve worked really hard in the summer on this new 3-4-3 system but we also want to be flexible within that.
“The players deserve all the credit, it’s very easy for me to put on a session throughout the week and talk about where the threats will come from.
“But the difficult task of going out and carrying out the instructions and they’ve been brilliant up until now but it’s only the start and we can’t allow ourselves to get carried away.
“It’ll be nice to look at the table this evening.”
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