The war of words between Dundee United and St Johnstone after Saturday’s Tayside derby was added to by Tannadice boss Peter Houston last night, when he turned his fire on opposite number Derek McInnes in the Danny Swanson “cheat” row.
McInnes was adamant Swanson dived with the intention of getting his defender, Steven Anderson, sent off in the match, and said, “We gave a performance full of spirit, discipline and endeavour, and the biggest thing was honesty.
“I’m not sure there was a lot of honesty elsewhere.”
Houston has jumped on this comment and has in turn suggested that McInnes should “look closer to home,” citing the match between the two teams a few months ago during which Anderson was given two yellow cards but remained on the pitch.
The United manager said, “It annoys me when another manager questions the honesty and integrity of my Dundee United players.
“I’m assuming Derek McInnes means Danny Swanson, who he seems to think took a dive.
“Well, people in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones and Derek should really look closer to home before he criticises anyone else.
“You just have to think back to earlier in the season when Steven Anderson was shown two yellow cards at Tannadice but still stayed on the park.
“He could have got a good, honest referee like Brian Winter out of a bit of trouble at the time by being honest and owning up to the fact that it was his second booking.
“But he didn’t do so and Brian was effectively left to hang out to dry over the whole incident.
“So where is the honesty from that St Johnstone player which Derek McInnes is talking about?”
Anderson’s dismissal was contentious, along with the United opener, which looked to be well offside.
Houston, who believes the defender could have been sent off twice before he eventually was, added, “St Johnstone should really be looking at getting their own house in order before they talk about anyone else’s discipline.
“I know that if one of my players was yellow-carded inside the first minute and then he committed another foul a few minutes later which should have resulted in a second yellow-card, then I’d be looking to do something to make sure it didn’t come to the point of him being sent off.”
Houston continued, “Danny Swanson is one of the most honest players I know in the game.
“He’s never been a diver and the only thing I get annoyed with him is when he sometimes throws himself into challenges.
“He runs at pace at players and has fantastic skill but is not the kind of player he is being made out to be by certain others.”‘Referee conned’With United circling the wagons around Swanson, Sean Dillon also backed up his team-mate.
He said, “Danny’s not like that. He’s not known for diving and he’s certainly not that type of player.
“He would much rather get on the end of it than get a free-kick because if he gets on the end of it, you would fancy him to go past the next defender.
“Danny’s very tricky with the ball at his feet. He’s got unbelievable balance when he’s running at defenders.”
Saints midfielder Chris Millar had a different take on it. He said, “The referee has been conned a bit. Ando has a right to feel aggrieved.
“There were a few times I felt the United players were going down easily.
“But that happens in the game and you hope you get a referee who is strong.”
The man at the centre of the storm gave his view of the incident.
Swanson said, “I kind of read him coming in and took a fall. I wouldn’t say I dived.
“I thought he did catch me. I have been knocked, I felt a contact and went down. I knocked it far in front of me, I saw the leg and went over it.
“The gaffer called it before the game, he said that if you get running at them someone will get sent off. That’s what I did and that’s what happened.
“I don’t want to get people sent off but I want to do as much to help my team as possible.
“My game is to run at players, commit them and let them bring me down. If not, I go through.”