Jackie McNamara is quietly getting on with the job.

Storms come and go - as do his players - but if there is something to be irate about at Dundee United, the club's manager will do his fuming behind closed doors. McNamara doesn't do histrionics.

But he has been piqued at recent events, not least, he admits, the revelation five weeks ago that he is on a bonus-scheme linked to the sales of players at Tannadice. The news looked bad for McNamara. Crudely, for some, it made him look like he was on the make.

"I can't alter people's perceptions about that, even if the notion could not be further from the truth," he says. "The fact is, I came to this club on a reduced salary, with incentive-based bonuses to make up for it. But if people think I'm here to make a quick profit by selling players, they've got it badly wrong. That's the last thing I would want. I want to keep our best young players for as long as possible. I want to see trophies won on my CV far more than any bonus I might receive."

The revelations about his contract still rile him, but McNamara appeases himself with the knowledge that he has done well by Dundee United so far. Andy Robertson, for one, was bought for peanuts from Queens Park and duly banked United £2.85m - in instalments - upon his departure.

"The club brought me here for a specific reason: to bring in or develop young players," says McNamara. "It is the philosophy of this club. Andy Robertson is one such player. We brought him from Queens Park, we developed him, and we produced a fantastic player. Some people have said I got lucky with Robertson. Well, if it was luck, why did others not do it?

"The bonuses thing was part of me coming here on a reduced salary [compared to previous Dundee United managers]. Many managers in England and elsewhere work to such a scheme. I can't alter people's perceptions about it. But all I want for this football club is progress and trophies, not bonuses for me."

The rumpus came hard on the heels of Dundee United selling Gary Mackay-Steven and Stuart Armstrong during the January transfer window. That, too, produced quite a fall-out. With a League Cup final looming, many United fans and media commentators griped about the club's lack of ambition.

McNamara remains stoical about it. "I was gutted to lose them both but I understand why the club sold them. GMS, for instance, had signed a pre-contract with Celtic, and Celtic wanted him immediately. So what would Gaz's mentality have been if we'd stopped him?

"The same applied to Stuart Armstrong. Of course we wanted to keep him but he knew what was on offer at Celtic. Also, Celtic paid big money for them. So there are so many factors to consider. With our debt and our budget, I understand Dundee United's thinking. But, believe me, I'd love it if the January transfer window didn't exist."

Mackay-Steven and Armstrong were just the latest in a line of top players McNamara watched going out of Tannadice. The 41 year old says he has had to hold his nerve while his top players have departed in droves.

"I've lost many players in my short time at the club. Johnny Russell and Jon Daly left - that was 30 goals a season lost to us. Then Willo Flood and Barry Douglas. And then I lost four key players in six months: Andy Robertson, Ryan Gauld, GMS and Armstrong. That's quite a turnover. Try asking any manager how he would cope with losing his four best players in six months.

"But the offers were too good for the club and the players to turn down. Were we honestly to stand in the way of Gauld going to Sporting Lisbon? Of course not. People have to accept this is the model we have at Dundee United."

Nadir Ciftci, another player brought in by McNamara, might be next. What chance, I asked, of keeping Ciftci beyond the summer, with Celtic and others sniffing around?

"I hope we can persuade him to stay for another year. He is still only 23 and he is a terrific player. But there does come a point when these things become too difficult for us. I work to a strict budget and there is only so much money we can offer Nadir. Secondly, he knows there are riches to be had elsewhere.

"He is another player I am proud to have brought to United. Nobody would look at Nadir two years ago: he had temperament issues, he fought with coaches, etc. But we've had two years of hard work with him, and on his day he is a fantastic talent. I'd love to have him for one more season."

Amid all this, and a pretty dire three months for Dundee United on the field, McNamara insists that things are well on track. He enthuses at yet another bunch of young United players coming through, and is buoyed by Saturday's 1-0 win over Aberdeen.

"I go back to my job here. We played with six teenagers against Aberdeen at the weekend - Robbie Muirhead, Charlie Telfer, Blair Spittal, John Souttar, Aidan Connolly and young Scott Smith. And we won.

"We are still progressing, in spite of things. We won 16 league games last year and we have already matched that. We have reached back-to-back cup finals. We've had the biggest derby victory over Dundee in the club's history [6-2 in January] and we're pushing for third in the league and a European place. So there is a lot for me to feel pleased about."

It had been rumoured that McNamara was brassed off at United, and that there had been various fall-outs behind the scenes. He has his own say on all that.

"Yep, I've taken some stick" he admits. "No-one likes to get that. I'm not on Twitter, I'm not on Facebook, and I try to shield myself from the negativity, the phone-ins. But stuff is fed back to me, so I hear about it. There are constant rumours. Some of it is laughable, and some of it is nasty and downright poisonous.

"I just get on with it. I think I've made decent progress at Dundee United. The one thing that really hurts is having lost these two cup finals. I really want to bring a trophy to this club."