RONNY DEILA must have been heartened to see his players respond so positively to the cup defeat when they played at Dundee on Wednesday.

Had they not bounced back so assuredly, it would have been a worry for the manager.

Now they go into the final five games without any trepidation.

The finishing line is within sight, and it just needs one final push.

Tannadice tomorrow would have been a much more daunting destination had they not taken all three points across the road in midweek.

They know they are not going to be playing on a good surface. But, with what is at stake, there can be no excuses.

They have to adapt to whatever confronts them, and I'm confident they have the players to do precisely that.

Tannadice is one of only two grounds in the top division where Ronny has yet to win - Inverness is the other - and I'm sure he wants to put that right to move a big step closer to closing out the title.

With the lead they have built up, it is simply a case of counting down - and the quicker they can make it four-in-a-row, the happier everyone will be.

There may then be an opportunity for some players to be given a rest because there is no Scottish Cup final to build towards.

That could be a real bonus, given how short a close-season Celtic will have.

If Virgil van Dijk can bang in another free-kick like the ones he scored in the last two games, the big prize could be bedecked with green and white ribbons in the next couple of weeks.

What a bonus it is to have a centre-half who can not only defend as he does, but contribute 10 goals.

Virgil got sent off on his last visit to Tannadice, though that was later overturned, and I don't think tomorrow's match will be as tough as that cup tie.

United have been poor since the end of the January, and you don't have to be a genius to realise why.

The sale of Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven to Celtic knocked the stuffing out of them.

Jackie McNamara has come in for a lot of criticism after it became public his contract entitles him to a cut of any player sale.

That's unfair on Jackie because that's the deal he was offered as United wanted to reduce the basic salary of the manager.

And it's not as though he is the man who decides if players are going to be sold.

I have to smile when asked if was ever offered such a deal in any of my management jobs.

I was lucky to get a percentage of my own transfer fee when I was sold from Celtic to Chelsea!

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