Peter Houston doesn't concern himself with disciplinary issues at Tannadice.
Why should he when Jon Daly has it sorted.
The Dundee United manager revealed he leaves his captain to ‘manage’ the dressing-room and that the players have to answer to Daly and defender Sean Dillon if they turn up late or infringe training ground rules. The pair are also left in charge of club fines.
“The fines go straight into the players’ pot,” Houston said. “They don’t come near me or the coaching staff. That’s because Jon can handle the responsibility and the rest of the lads all respect him.
“He’s also the one who makes sure players do their bit in the community. If there’s a presentation to be done or if the club need him to meet someone then he’s the first there and makes sure the rest of the lads come along with him. He’s a credit to himself and Dundee United.”
Houston also heaped praise on the striker for coming back from injury early. The Irishman was expected to be out for a month with a knee problem but has declared himself fit to face Inverness Caledonian Thistle today.
“The fact Jon is not 100% but he’s desperate to play tells you everything about him. He’s always leading from the front. Jon is a big character in the dressing-room and a great example to the young players we have here. I know they all look up to him and he leads by example.
“Having him back this weekend, because Johnny Russell is suspended, is a major bonus for the team.”
United face a resurgent Highland side this weekend and Houston always expected them to improve after a slow start to the season.
“I saw Inverness at the start of the season and thought they did much better than their results. Terry Butcher always said he was going to need the whole transfer window to get his squad in place and now he’s done that I’m not surprised they have really picked up.”
Butcher is optimistic his side can build on the recent win over Kilmarnock and a draw against Hearts, especially with the likes of Greg Tansey and Billy McKay fully fit after injury.
“We are two games unbeaten and we would have liked to have made it three wins on the trot because we felt we did enough to get three points against Hearts.”
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