Inverness labelled him a diver at the weekend but Ray McKinnon believes what he’s got in Paul McMullan is a top attacking talent at Dundee United.
The 21-year-old winger was the focus of attention up in the Highlands as he was brought down by Joe Chalmers during the big opening-day Championship clash.
Referee Craig Thomson pointed to the spot and McMullan picked himself up and converted the penalty to give the Tangerines a perfect winning start to their league campaign.
That infuriated home boss John Robertson. He was sent to the stand for protesting and later described the United star as a player “who goes down very easily.”
Pictures of the incident suggested those words were harsh and, for Ray, the winner was a fair reward for a fine performance from both the player and his team as a whole.
He didn’t understand what the fuss was a about and preferred to talk of how well McMullan performed.
“I thought the penalty was clear cut. I think everybody would say that. I actually thought it was a penalty just before the tackle when their boy blocked Scott Fraser’s shot,” said Ray.
“Their player clearly caught Paul and it was the right decision.
“And I thought he had a great game.
“That’s two games we’ve played without a recognised striker and how good has he been (through the middle)?”
“He’s a talented player, clever and if you give him a bit of freedom, defenders just hate playing against him. He’s so quick-footed and he’s lightning sharp.”
Overall Ray felt his team deserved a victory that made it a perfect 47th birthday for him.
And the manager feels there is good reason to believe his team will only get stronger in coming weeks.
For a start, suspended trio Scott McDonald, Mark Durnan and Matty Smith are all now available again. They’ll be joined in the squad for Wednesday’s Betfred Cup derby at Dundee by new signing Fraser Fyvie.
The midfielder joined up on Friday but wasn’t included in the weekend squad.
“He’s trained and looked fit. It will be nice to get him on that park because he’s a right good player.
“Like a few others he needs matches but we have a few coming back and by the end of the month everyone should be fit.”
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