Houston wary of Hearts threat Peter Houston has told Dundee United to ignore Hearts' sluggish start to the Clydesdale Bank Premier League season ahead of their visit to Tannadice. The United manager firmly expects John McGlynn's side to pick things up and show why many observers were tipping them to challenge for second place in the absence of Rangers before the campaign got under way. Hearts currently sit ninth with just one league win to their credit but Houston is refusing to believe the Scottish Cup holders have become a bad team overnight. Houston said: "Hearts are still a good side. It's still very much early days with regards to league positions so you can't look too much into anything at this stage. "John McGlynn has got some very good players to chose from even though they've let go some of the bigger name players. "We know this will be a very difficult match. It's never easy coming up against any Hearts team. "That's always been the case in recent seasons and it's not something that is about to change. "We're going to have to be at our best to get the result we're looking for and anything we get will be hard earned for sure." Houston has nothing but admiration for opposite number McGlynn, who he knows from their time together at Tynecastle. The Tangerines boss was assistant while McGlynn was youth coach in Gorgie so knows he will bring his team to Tayside fully focused for the job in hand. Houston, whose side were held to a goalless draw by Ross County last weekend, said: "John is a very professional guy. He works ever so hard at anything he does and we know his Hearts team will be very well organised and hard to beat. "John is working on limited resources but that won't bother him at all. "Because of circumstances he's having to go with younger players but that is what he's good at. "In saying that, I still expect to come up against a good Hearts team. "They have as good a back four as anywhere in the SPL. "And when you look elsewhere in their team they still have a lot of quality which can hurt teams. "We're under no illusions about the task we face but it's up to us to try and reach our own high standards and get back to winning ways. "It was a tough match against Ross County last Friday but I think Hearts will come here and give it a go which might suit us a bit better on the day." Manager John McGlynn is bullish at the prospect of his Hearts side overcoming the spectre of delayed wages by winning at Dundee United for the first time in more than three years. McGlynn was one of two members of staff and six players who received their monthly salaries late this week as the issue resurfaced following four significant delays last season. The former Raith boss takes his side to Tannadice seeking an on-field improvement following five Clydesdale Bank Premier League matches without a win. Hearts have lost five and drawn one of their last six meetings with United, their last win coming in February 2011, while the Edinburgh club's most recent triumph at Tannadice was the 1-0 win two years earlier. "It's a privilege to be the manager of Hearts Football Club, even under these circumstances," said McGlynn, who was appointed as successor to Scottish Cup-winning boss Paulo Sergio. "I'm still very, very optimistic and enjoying the job, frustrated because I feel we deserve more points than we have. "But that's not unusual in football. You get these runs when you don't get the run of the ball and it turns. We're hoping it will turn on Saturday. "There's no better time to go up there and break that record. "I've not been involved in the last three years, I've been involved in this one. "I still believe we're playing well; I still have loads of belief in the players that we have here." Hearts began the campaign with a 2-0 win over St Johnstone, before successive draws against Hibernian, Inverness and Aberdeen and two straight defeats, against Dundee and St Mirren. McGlynn added: "We've shot ourselves in the foot in a couple of games. Inverness, Dundee were games when we should've picked up more points. "Last week (at St Mirren), we played good football, passed the ball well and created chances. We just need that ball to go in the back of the net and get on a run." McGlynn is likely to have to improve results without influential defender Andy Webster. The Scotland international, who captained Dundee United to Scottish Cup victory in 2010, is "extremely doubtful" with a back/hip injury.
Source: PA
