Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara has confirmed he abandoned his planned appeal against a touchline ban to ensure he would be in the dug-out for next month’s Scottish Cup final.
The manager had opted to contest a five-match ban, two games of which were suspended, handed down by the SFA after his fall-out with his St Johnstone counterpart Tommy Wright during the Tayside derby at Tannadice on March 12.
However, he withdrew his appeal last week as the game’s governing body had stalled over naming a date for his hearing, with McNamara fearing if he was unsuccessful, his ban would coincide with the big day at Celtic Park on May 17.
He was in the stands for last week’s game against Saints and will sit out a further two matches against Motherwell on Saturday and next week’s fixture up in Inverness.
He said: “It’s frustrating when you’re sitting in the stand but it’s happened before. I’m disappointed with the outcome but I’ll need to accept it and get on with it.
“The fact a date hadn’t been set for the appeal was a factor. It seems dates can be set quickly for other things but, more than a week later, a date still wasn’t set for my appeal so I didn’t want to take the risk.
“The uncertainty over the appeal is part and parcel of the set-up and you have to accept it. There’s nothing I could do about it, as much as I was disappointed by it.
“That’s the rules and the laws. You’ve got to deal with it and I don’t see it changing any time soon. There are a few games to go before the Scottish Cup final but it’s good that I’ll be able to be in the dug-out.
“It was disappointing and frustrating being in the stand last week. You get a bit of a different view and you can get a good look at the shape but it’s a bit further away from the dug-out area.”