Houston defends tenure at Tannadice

Houston was reacting to the news that club owner Stephen Thompson is returning from his holiday in Florida early, fuelling speculation that his job is under threat if they lose to Dunfermline tomorrow.

United have struggled to find top gear this season and have won only twice from 12 matches in the SPL but Houston reckons his past record means he deserves more time.

The 53-year-old led the Tangerines to Scottish Cup success in 2010, only the second win in the club’s history, and gained European football back-to-back with third and fourth placed league finishes.

Houston says he has not spoken to Thompson about his plans to return to Scotland early but will be holding showdown talks when he arrives back in the country.

He said: “I have read the reports in the newspapers. In football nothing should shock you but it’s something I have to deal with.

“I don’t know if it it true or not because I have not spoken to the chairman. But, if he wants to bring in a new manager, then I’ll look at my own record and walk out the front door of Tannadice with my head held high.

“I don’t fear the sack, it’s up to the club to decide what they’re going to do. But what I will say is that if I do get the sack on the back of this season, and it’s only October remember, then I think it will be harsh.

“I have the second-best winning record behind Jim McLean and am one of only three cup-winning managers the club has ever had. We have been in Europe twice in a row as well, despite the budget being cut. I have worked with the board to cut the budget back and have lost some good players.”

He added: “If they want me to go then I’ll accept it, it’s football. But I will stand by my record, we are two points off six place.

“I told the chairman at the start of the season that, if we get top six, it would be a bigger achievement than winning the cup. I thought that because of the players we lost, the size of the squad and all the young boys we had to bring in.

“Call it making excuses if you want but, if you take four first-team regulars out of any SPL team, then it’s hard to replace them all in one go.

“If I do end up out of a job I will put my record against any United manager since Jim McLean. This club had not been in Europe two years in a row since the 1980s. I know I have 100 per cent commitment from the players, you have seen that in the last few matches, so I’ll stick together with the lads.

“The boys are working their socks off. Sometimes you find when a team is not doing well is that the players have not been putting the effort in. That is not the case here.”

Houston planned to be celebrating exactly five years at Tannadice this week and did not expect to have a cloud hanging over his job. But he insists that his record as both assistant to Craig Levein and as his own man proves he is capable of turning things around.

In his first season at the club he helped them get away from relegation before replacing Levein when he joined Scotland in 2009. Since then United have tasted nothing but success, with the cup final win the highlight.

Houston, who has also had to endure speculation that Shamrock Rovers manager Michael O’Neill, a former Dundee United player, has been lined up as his replacement, said: “I have been here five years this week. In that time along with Craig Levein we got the team off the bottom of the league, then into the top six the following season.

“Since then we have won the cup, finished third and fourth – with Europe two years in a row. I am proud of the record I have at Dundee United. This season has not gone as we hoped but it is a team in transition and we will improve.

“United have progressed every season, it’s only October and last season it wasn’t until February when we went on a great run of winning eight games in a row that we really got into gear. It’s a results business, though, and as a manager I know that but to read that other managers have been spoken to is a bit disrespectful.”