The Dundee derby day dawns with Peter Houston urged his United players to seize the moment. United have waited seven years for the return of the much-missed fixture within the City of Discovery following Dundee's relegation to the First Division. Now the two old rivals are about to meet head-to-head in a long-awaited derby clash in front of a full Tannadice and Houston hopes his side embrace the challenge. Houston said: "I think it's fair to say that in recent times we have always envied the other derbies in Scotland. When you look at the likes of the Glasgow and Edinburgh derbies there have been times we have wished that we could be playing in our own derby. That's only natural from our point of view and now it's just about here we obviously want to make the most of it. It promises to be a great afternoon for everyone involved. When you see the stadium sold out you realise that's exactly what we want to see here in Scotland. Both sets of fans have wasted no time in selling out their respective ticket allocations which tells you about the passion for the fixture on either side. It's a great sign. We'll go out and play in our usual manner and hopefully get the result we're looking for.'' United will wait until the last minute for Gavin Gunning (back), Gary Mackay-Steven (knee), Johnny Russell and Sean Dillon (both groin) in the hope they can all prove their fitness. Houston said: "It's just one of these things that we have to deal with but hopefully the lads can make it. The players have been raring to go in training this week and this will be a bit different from some other games which is what makes it so special.'' Dundee defender Gary Irvine insists he and his team mates have no inferiority complex going into the game. The SPL new boys are finding their feet back in the big-time following their promotion in the summer with many observers tipping them to go straight back down to the First Division. Irvine said: "It's 11 versus 11 on the day. That's the way we're looking at it. It's natural that United are favourites because we've just come back up and they're an established side in the SPL. But football doesn't always work like that and we've got to believe in ourselves which we do. We've got respect for United for what they've done in recent seasons but we have to focus on ourselves. We'll go out there with a belief that we can definitely get something from the game which is the only way to approach a derby match.''
Source: FOOTYMAD
