Tam Courts insists he had no qualms about pitching Dundee United teen sensation Kerr Smith into the cauldron of Celtic Park.
Smith, 16, was handed a start away to the Glasgow giants after stepping in for the injured Charlie Mulgrew at centre-back.
And Smith – who became the youngest Dundee United player to ever start a derby last weekend – was outstanding alongside the unshakable Ryan Edwards.
It was a brave call from Courts to show faith in the youngster, with experienced centre-back Mark Reynolds left on the bench.
But it underlines the faith he is willing to show in his highly-rated Dundee United academy graduates.
“I’ve said before that I’m really proud of Kerr,” said Courts. “I take a lot of pride in his performance.
“But I take just as much delight in seeing Ian Harkes score in consecutive weeks or Peter Pawlett in the form of his life.
“I delight in the workrate that Jeando Fuchs puts in. I could go on and on and on with the players.
“Kerr is a Dundee United player. He’s 16 and because he is young he is going to make mistakes. He’s going to have poor games.
“But he also needs to feel like he has the trust of his manager to pitch him into big occasions.
“The team need to absorb that and work with that. I thought they did that perfectly well against Celtic.”
Dundee United ‘should have had penalty’ – Peter Pawlett
Meanwhile, United star Peter Pawlett believes his side were robbed of a first-half penalty in the draw with Celtic.
Pawlett sent team-mate Nicky Clark through with the United appearing to be bundled over by Celtic defender Cameron Carter-Vickers.
But referee Kevin Clancy waved away United’s appeals much to Pawlett’s surprise.
“My initial reaction was yes that’s a penalty,” said Pawlett. “It’s disappointing.
“I felt that a couple of decisions went against us during the week and against Celtic.
“I feel a bit hard done by but hopefully these things will even themselves out as the season goes on.”
Kerr Smith: Dundee United teenager makes history with derby appearance
