Tam Courts rues Nicky Clark miss as Dundee United boss explains new signings absence

Dundee United manager Tam Courts admitted he was certain Nicky Clark was going to grab a dramatic victory for his team in the closing stages of what he described as a ‘chaotic’ derby at Dens Park.

Dundee United striker Nicky Clark in despair after missing a late chance to win the game for his team against Dundee at Dens Park. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

Clark missed the best chance of the match in the 87th minute when he blazed the ball over from inside the six yard box under pressure from Dundee defender Ryan Sweeney.

Courts was relatively satisfied with a point from a contest which saw his defence under pressure for lengthy spells but admits he is seeking greater fluency from his team.

“Nicky has got a big mentality and he’s experienced,” said Courts. “His first touch was excellent, the defender made a great recovery tackle but I expected to see the ball bulging in the net.

“That would have changed the way I’m speaking. I wanted to see more quality and to attack Dundee on the wings but we couldn’t get consistency.

“It was chaotic and frenzied like a lot of derbies. In the first 45 minutes I felt frustrated. Considering it was chaotic for prolonged periods and the way we committed didn’t suit us.

“The latter part of the game showed us using the ball better and engineering better chances.

“I’m pleased with the clean sheet, the attitude and condition considering we played on Saturday and they’re fighting for their lives.

“I would like us to have been braver because I felt there were many opportunities like that but we couldn’t establish rhythm and control.

“But it's good we got a clean sheet and welcomed back Liam Smith after injury. Ross Graham was probably the most composed player on the pitch and all credit to him.

“I knew the way the game would unfold. If we’d capitalised on those bigger moments we’d have got control but we kept it in the chaotic phase and it became a lottery.

“We had a really strong week last week and we now need to target three points against St Johnstone on Saturday.”

Courts decided against handing debuts to deadline-day signings Tim Akinola and Kevin McDonald who were unused subs.

“It’s difficult because we need to get them up to speed,” he said. “Tim trained yesterday and Kev travelled up from London. We didn’t want to jeopardise them for Saturday.”

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