Dundee United manager Robbie Neilson wants his team to put games to bed after hanging on to beat Inverness Caley Thistle.
The Tangerines grabbed the three points at Tannadice last night thanks to Nicky Clark’s 68th-minute penalty goal but it was a near thing.
United lost Peter Pawlett to a red card just minutes after going 1-0 up and it was an anxious ending.
Neilson was frustrated that, not for the first time, they didn’t capitalise when dominating the opposition.
The United boss said: “We had a lot of opportunities early in the game and didn’t take them.
“When you are at 1-0 there is always a nervousness there and all it needs is one mistake – maybe a flick-on or someone not tracking back – and the other team are back in the game.
“Nicky took the penalty well but we need to put teams to bed and it was frustrating that we didn’t kill the game off.
“That made it edgy.”
Dundee United 1 Inverness CT 0: Tangerines stay focused to win closely-fought clash
Had they lost a late equaliser it would have been costly due to Championship leaders Ross County beating Ayr United 3-2 in Dingwall.
United stayed five points behind and intend to stalk the Staggies right until the end of the season.
“We have keep going and keep picking up points,” added Neilson.
“That’s us in front of Ayr in second place and we want to keep the pressure on.”
Neilson, meanwhile, didn’t argue about Pawlett’s ordering-off.
He added: “It was a red card and the second booking was just a rush of blood to the head.
“It is disappointing because he is an experienced player and we are going to miss him for the following league game.”
