Webster puts his faith in Tangerines' resilience

United sealed an Active Nation Scottish Cup final place with a 2-0 victory over Raith Rovers at Hampden yesterday and manager Peter Houston then vowed to push Celtic all the way for second spot in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League.

United are five points behind Celtic but they have the momentum of a nine-match unbeaten run and five-game winning streak while Neil Lennon's team are reeling from their 2-0 semi-final defeat by Ross County.

Webster, whose second-half bullet header added to David Goodwillie's slick opener, said: "When you start winning games it breeds confidence, we have shown that over the last two or three months.

"When we went to Easter Road and lost a goal after 37 seconds, sometimes that can make teams crumble but we responded magnificently and got right back in it and won the game quite comfortably.

"I think there is a confidence and determination amongst all the boys to have a bit of success this season. The resilience and the character the boys have shown is a testament to the coaching staff and the players individually.

"It's having that desire and willingness to keep going because we know if we keep doing the right things, we'll have a greater opportunity of winning football matches."

United host Rangers on Wednesday 24 hours after Motherwell look to add to Celtic's woes at Parkhead.

But on-loan Rangers defender Webster said: "We can't focus on what Celtic are going to do.

"They have got themselves in a good position, and I know it's an old cliche, but we are just taking every game as it comes and just trying to do our best and focus on what we can influence."

United boss Houston, meanwhile, has set his sights on beating Celtic to second spot in the SPL.

As far as Houston is concerned, the cup final will now be put to the back of their minds as they set about finishing as high as possible in the SPL. "We've got to look forward," he said. "We'll have a pop at it because we've still got Celtic to play at Tannadice.

"We've got a massive game against Rangers on Wednesday night and my concern now is freshening things up because the semi-final will have taken a lot out of the legs.

"We'll have a go. People are asking about the cup final but that's on the backburner. My thoughts now are to enjoy this win and then plan how we can get something against Rangers at Tannadice and see where it takes us."

Houston – who will discuss his future at the club with chairman Stephen Thompson a few days after the cup final – admits he used Celtic's shock exit 24 hours earlier as a warning to his own players about the dangers of First Division opposition. And he revealed how he feared a nervous start to the game could have resulted in a similar fate for his own players.

Houston said: "I think Raith Rovers would have taken great heart from the way Ross County went about their job. But I also pointed out to our players that this is what can happen. Yes, I was concerned because I don't think we held the ball up well, I don't think we passed it well at the start and I thought we were very nervous looking.

"Raith played with a lot of freedom, a lot of good play and passing and moving. The only thing that was missing from them was a real goalscoring opportunity.

"I was concerned but we saw it through and the second half was a thoroughly professional performance without being outstanding – great credit to the boys, I'm delighted for them."