DANNY CADAMARTERI last night revealed United’s unorthodox preparations for today’s trip to Fir Park, writes Graeme Dey.

With their St Andrews training ground waterlogged earlier this week boss Craig Levein took his troops to the seaside—but it was no picnic.

Cadamarteri said, “Training on the beach the other day was certainly a bit of an experience.

“The gaffer took us down there in the summer and it was quite nice because the weather was decent.

“You couldn’t say that about Tuesday, though, because it was blowing a force-10 gale.”

He added, “To start with he just sent us out to run as far as we could go until we met the sea.

“That bit wasn’t too bad because the wind was behind us, but when we turned to come back in it was horrendous.

“There was sleet, hail and sand all blowing in our faces. It was unbelievable.”

Cadamarteri said, “The only guy to enjoy it was Darren Dods—he loves anything to do with running and he said that if it was good enough for Red Rum then it should be good enough for us!’’

Whatever the build-up Cadamarteri recognises there needs to be just one outcome—a victory to maintain the pressure on the Old Firm.

He said, “After beating Celtic last Sunday we need to keep it going against Motherwell.

“There’s no point getting good results against the Old Firm and then not following up on it.”

He added, “What we’re aiming for is a consistent level of performance.

“The Old Firm have had it for years, they tend to grind out results even when they’re below par.

“At this stage we’re not able to do that—we’ve dropped points when our performance levels have slipped.

“So what the manager has said and what the lads are looking for is to get that peak level and try to stay there.’’

Cadamarteri believes last Sunday won’t be the last time either Celtic or Rangers suffer defeat in the SPL—because the fear factor has gone.

He said, “It’s not just this club that has confidence against the Old Firm now, I can see it in all of the teams.

“Maybe not everyone is thinking they can split them but I don’t see anyone going into the games with fear.

“In the past damage limitation was maybe at the forefront of people’s minds but now most teams will fancy their chances of taking points off them.”

He added, “The SPL has become very exciting.

“It gets talked down quite a bit but I honestly think it’s a good league.’’

Levein admitted his players will face a serious examination at Fir Park this afternoon.

He said, “I don’t think even Motherwell would go against the argument that Celtic have better players than they do.

“However, in some regards, this one is the more difficult fixture for us.

“It is an away game and I always feel that in matches against the Old Firm, especially live on TV, the players really go out and have something to prove.”

He added, “I have been really pleased with our away form and the results are the best we have had for a while but I see this as a real test for us.”

Defender Mihael Kovacevic is fit so the Tannadice boss will have the same squad available as he did last Sunday.

With striker Kevin Smith on loan to Raith Rovers, Keith Watson will be the next United player to be farmed out, with East Fife his likely destination.

Meanwhile, Motherwell’s Mark Reynolds recalled the early-season win over United at Tannadice—the Tangerines’ only league defeat so far this season.

He said, “We had studied them and knew how they were going to play and we defended amazingly. We gave 100% and that’s probably the hardest we have worked for 90 minutes.”

United showed their strength at set-pieces against Celtic when Jon Daly and Darren Dods headed home corners.

Reynolds said, “It is something we have worked on but I think the most important thing is not to give away set-pieces and then you don’t need to worry about defending them.”

Motherwell midfielder Steve Jennings is doubtful having missed several training sessions this week with an ankle injury but is hopeful of making the game.

Shaun Hutchinson (hamstring) and Chris Humphrey (ankle) remain on the sidelines while Paul Slane, Marc Fitzpatrick and Darren Smith are continuing rehabilitation.