Manager Jackie McNamara has insisted Dundee United have done the right thing by not intervening in the SFA disciplinary shambles that has dominated the build-up to the League Cup final.
McNamara was speaking at Hampden as news came through that Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk’s red card, issued to him for allegedly stamping on United midfielder Calum Butcher in the Scottish Cup quarter-final between the sides, had been rescinded.
There was then a wait of a few hours to discover the fate of two of his own players, Paul Paton and Nadir Ciftci, with both men also winning their cases.
Paton’s red card, which was shown to him despite not committing any offence during the 1-1 draw at Tannadice was, understandably, quashed.
Ciftci, issued with yet another notice of complaint for allegedly kicking Hoops captain Scott Brown on the head, had his case found not proven.
The striker was already banned for the final because he had collected two bookings one in the quarter-final against Hibs and one in the semi against Aberdeen. He can, though, feature in the Scottish Cup replay against Celtic next Wednesday and the league match on the 21st.
The whole thing has been a sorry mess, with both McNamara and Hoops gaffer Ronny Deila only discovering who is available for selection three days before the big match.
The fallout from the Scottish Cup tie has also included claims from Deila that United’s Aidan Connolly should have been done retrospectively for what the Parkhead boss saw as a dive to win a penalty for the Tangerines.
Then came an official statement from Celtic, which argued that it was “fundamentally unfair” that Van Dijk should be cited if the man he challenged and then tangled with, Tangerines’ midfielder Butcher, wasn’t punished because Paton was red-carded instead.
Celtic frontman Anthony Stokes, who fouled Connolly for the spotkick, subsequently joined in, claiming he was surprised Connolly was not hit with a simulation charge.
The saga, which doesn’t exactly paint referee Craig Thomson and his team in a good light, has all taken away from what should be a showpiece spectacle for Scottish football.
Ideally, McNamara would have loved both teams to have been ban-free, with Ciftci also able to feature in the final.
Asked if the suspension stooshie had affected United’s build-up to Sunday, he replied: “I don’t think it really has to be honest.
“The players have been really relaxed and focused.”
Obviously irked by the interventions from Deila and Stokes, McNamara added: “From our point of view, we have kept our silence and our focus on Sunday.
“We haven’t mentioned anything about wanting anyone suspended or this guy has done this or that.
“We’re focused on our own team.
“The last thing I would want is any of my players to speak out about the opposition and what not when it has been dealt with by the authorities. I’m pleased they haven’t.
“That might have taken their focus away from the game. It shouldn’t. This is a different game on Sunday.
“If you ask me I would prefer that all the guys were playing Nadir as well, even though he picked up to yellows,” he added.
“The disappointing thing from my point of view is Nadir will be missing.
“He has shown over the last year and a half that he is a big-game player for us.
“He scored in both semi-finals (against Aberdeen and against Rangers in last season’s Scottish Cup) for us and showed last Sunday against Celtic what an important player he is for us.
“So he is a loss.
“He is very unfortunate to be suspended with two yellow cards, one of which came because he slipped into a lad against hibs.
“You want all your best players playing in cup finals.
“You don’t want anyone to miss out.
“It happened to me once when I got booked in a semi and missed the final. It’s not a nice feeling to sit and watch.”
This final, of course, stands back-to-back with the Scottish Cup decider against St Johnstone at Celtic Park in May, which the Tangerines lost 2-0.
McNamara insists he won’t be raking over old ground with the team, which will have several different faces from that match anyway.
“I won’t be going into that with the players as this is a different thing altogether,” he said.
“I’m just delighted that within a year we are in another final.
“That says a lot about what we have at our club, what we have in the dressing room, the mentality that we’re trying to instil into them.
“Hopefully, from last weekend’s 1-1 draw they have taken great bit of confidence by playing with nine men for 40 minutes and holding their own.
“There were waves of attack for 40 minutes.
“I have great belief in what we have in the dressing room and I have to try and put that across to them.
“If they go out and do their jobs properly, we can cause an upset.
“It would be fantastic to go on and win it now.”
Given the hulabaloo over the Scottish Cup game last weekend, McNamara will be telling his players to stay cool on Sunday.
“I think that’s key to it,” he said.
“It’s Celtic again but you play most teams four times a season anyway and you get to know everybody really well.
“It shouldn’t come into play at all, what happened last Sunday.
“I will make sure the players understand the importance of discipline.
“We have to be committed, we have to compete but first and foremost we have to make sure we keep our cool.”
Meanwhile, McNamara has declared central defender Callum Morris fit and available for selection.