It’s emerged a string of Dundee United players were struck down by illness during the weekend clash with Queen of the South.
But gaffer Ray McKinnon has refused to use that as an excuse for only drawing the game.
William Edjenguele, Willo Flood and Tony Andreu, were all struck down by a bug on Saturday afternoon.
Edjenguele and Flood managed to complete 90 minutes but Andreu came off on the hour mark after a quiet game.
“William wasn’t well, he was ill Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Willo wasn’t well and Tony Andreu wasn’t well,” revealed the manager.
“They don’t tell you this before the game — they tell you after it!
“Actually, Willo wasn’t well before the game. I knew that and he took tablets but we didn’t realise William and Tony were ill as well.
“Tony came to me when he came back at the beginning of the week and apologised for not saying and not being at it but it’s just one of those things.
“And the fact they were ill is not making an excuse because we shouldn’t have been 3-1 down. If you are not at your best you get beat in this league, it’s that simple.”
All three have recovered and there’s no sign of the bug spreading, so United are expecting to have a full squad travelling to Dingwall on Saturday to face Ross County in the Scottish Cup.
“Everyone is training and we’ve been putting in a lot of hard work, so that’s good,” added Ray.
The attempt to get Gary Mackay-Steven back on loan from Celtic is ongoing but United are keen to get an answer from player and club quickly.
If it’s a no, the manager has not put all his eggs in one basket and attention will turn to other targets.
While striker Edward Ofere is training at Tannadice, the gaffer stressed for the time being at least his isn’t a name high on the list of possible signings.
“Edward’s agent asked if we could give him training facilities because he’s looking for a club.
“He’s not on trial, he was here last year so we thought we’d give him the chance to come back in with the lads.
“He’s not one we’re looking at, we have just signed Thomas Mikkelsen for that role.
“What we’re looking for is someone in other areas of the pitch but Edward is welcome to train with us,” he explained.
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