'Hibs will be disappointed' - Tam Courts hails Dundee United resilience in Easter Road draw

Dundee United would have preferred all the pressure to be on their Dens Park rivals when the two tribes meet at Tannadice next week.

But, forced to settle for a draw against Hibs, after Ross Graham’s early lead was cancelled out by Harry Clarke, Tam Courts’ men were unable to put themselves out of touch of the other sides battling for a top six spot and will now go into the derby looking for at least one more point to ensure that status come the split.

“It’s been a very tight league for a prolonged period of time,' said the United gaffer. “Naturally there is a lot of pressure. In the second half the players showed a lot of resilience and togetherness and that’s probably what actually gained us a point and in fourth position.

“I think it probably is a good point. You would probably be greedy if you wanted the three points. If we played in the second half the way we did in the first half we probably would have had a better chance but unfortunately in the second half we couldn’t get any rhythm.

Dundee United manager Tam Courts on the touchline during his side's 1-1 draw with Hibs at Easter Road. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

"Hibs will probably be disappointed because in the second half they probably had the game’s best chances.”

But it sets up a bumper round of deciding matches next weekend.

“It does and if you look through them there will be a lot of interesting ones and it’s great for the league. We’re a really small side in terms of available players just now so we need to refresh the players and recharge them and really look forward to a big game with a Dundee derby at home.”

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