Dundee United to rally around Sean Dillon

Sean Dillon was red during Sunday's League Cup Final. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

RYAN McGowan insists the Dundee United squad will rally round skipper Sean Dillon after his Hampden heartache.

The Irishman had a day to forget on Glasgow’s southside as Celtic claimed the QTS Scottish League Cup with a 2-0 triumph.

He spent six minutes off the pitch having treatment on a leg wound caused by Hoops defender Virgil van Dijk’s first-half tackle. By the time he came back on, Kris Commons had swept Celtic ahead. And he then lasted just 10 minutes of the second 45 before being shown a straight red card for a late challenge on Parkhead full-back Emilo Izaguirre.

But Australian international McGowan tipped Dillon to pick himself up ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Cup quarter-final replay with Celtic.

He said: “I feel for Dillo. He got a bad injury in the first half and came back on then ends up getting sent off. It just seems these days that you can’t just foul somebody and have a free-kick given. It always seems to be a yellow or red card.

“Sean has been a terrific player for us. He’s the club captain so it was a big loss for us when he went off, not just as a player but we missed his leadership and encouragement.

“But I don’t think he will let this disappointment affect him too much. I expect him to bounce back quickly.

“If he doesn’t then it is up to us as his team-mates to lift him. We’ve got another huge game on Wednesday and if we win, it would arguably be better than Sunday’s match.”

United felt hard-done by after the Hampden defeat, claiming they should have had a first-half penalty with the score at 1-0.

John Rankin suggested Celtic had swayed referee Bobby Madden by putting “pressure” on the official with a string of media comments.

His midfield partner Paul Paton added: “We have known in the last week that nothing seems to go for us against Celtic. I don’t know why – it’s just one of those things.

“There have been a few harsh decisions against us but you can’t make excuses and have to just take it on the chin.”