Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara inadvertently revealed just how highly he rates Motherwell striker John Sutton.
The Tannadice manager was about to pinpoint the threat the front man possesses ahead of tonight’s game against the Steelmen but in a slip of the tongue called him Chris the name of Sutton’s older brother who won the Premiership title with Blackburn and also starred for Chelsea and alongside McNamara at Celtic.
The manager said: “We can expect a difficult game. Motherwell will be physical and they have a lot of experience in their side. They have Chris, sorry John Sutton.
“I played with John’s brother, Chris, at Celtic, and he’s very similar in the way he plays.
“John is very clever at holding the ball up and winning free-kicks. He’s a real threat and one we need to be careful of.”
Motherwell are sitting in third spot, nine points ahead of United in fourth.
However, McNamara does not believe anything will be settled tonight as the Tangerines look to extend their recent winning run to three games.
McNamara said: “I think it’s the same as last week. At this stage of the season, every game is crucial.
“We want to keep winning, pushing up the league, and chasing the teams in front of us.
“It doesn’t change the same pressure we had in last week’s game.
“We need to go and win it to give ourselves a little chance to get closer to Motherwell, who are on an excellent run.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a do-or-die game for us but I think it’s an important one for us mentally.
“We could win this one or they could beat us and vice-versa the next week, so there’s no change.
“But we are at home and we have to make sure that we get back on a winning run.”
United have injury doubts over Ryan Gauld and John Souttar but Gavin Gunning has returned to training this week and could come into contention.