Jackie McNamara, the Dundee United manager, is not interested in gaining some measure of revenge for a defeat in last season's Scottish Cup final, when his side take on St Johnstone this afternoon.

Instead his attention remains on the prospect of maintaining their position at the top of the SPFL Premiership, a position taken after a win over Dundee.

That was followed by a League Cup triumph against their city rivals and United will continues their local interest today with the visit of Tayside neighbours St Johnstone. It is the first time that the two clubs have met since the Perth side lifted the Scottish Cup at Celtic Park in May following a 2-0 victory in the final.

However, McNamara has moved on from that painful result and insists he is occupied simply and collecting another three league points to keep United flying high. He must also find a way to offset the potential loss of Gary Mackay-Steven, who has a thigh strain.

"The revenge is not three points in the league," said the United manager, whose side top the league table by virtue of goal difference. "That would be another chance to play them in a cup final. It's three points we're playing for, that's all and we play them four times in the league this season. So there's no revenge in that sense.

"It would be a great way to round off the week if we could win on Saturday. We know how difficult it is going to be as St Johnstone were a real bogey team last year. Apart from beating them 4-0 in the first game at home between us, we then seemed to struggle in the rest of the games against them.

"You know what you are getting from them. They are well-organised. They're disciplined and hard to break down at times. Tommy was there watching us the other night as well in the cup and they stop you playing and can make things hard for you. Sometimes the first goal is very crucial and the initial bit of the game you have to compete with them and match them for effort and commitment; you have to earn the right to play."

The experience of the cup final may been left behind, far from Tannadice, but St Johnstone's players have continued to carry it around with them. None more so than Lee Croft, the winger still able to recall not only the smiling faces of his team-mates but the pained expressions sported by their opponents.

"Our cup win at Celtic Park is definitely the highlight of my career," said Croft, whose side are without on-loan striker Brian Graham today. "That day rounded off a great season for the club and now that we've had a taste of it we want more. But the United players were really down after that defeat and if I was in their shoes I'd be seeing this as the first chance to get some revenge."