Tangerines in ref warning

Dundee United captain Jon Daly last night warned his Tannadice team-mates to stay on the right side of Croatian referee Marijo Strahonja in their Europa Cup first leg qualifier at home to AEK Athens.

The 34-year-old PE teacher has gained a reputation on the continent for eagerly flashing red and yellow cards during Europa League matches in recent seasons and Daly is worried United's inexperienced stars could fall foul of the tough European rules.

Tackles which are considered the norm in the SPL are often harshly punished in European games so Daly said: "The referee averages five or six yellow cards in a game so we've got to be aware of that. If he's card-happy then we can't go flying into tackles because you could find yourself getting a red or yellow. It's not going to be like an SPL game in terms of play going up and down the park."