McNamara wary of Buddies threat
Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara has told his side to beware of a rejuvenated St Mirren in Wednesday's Scottish Premiership match in Paisley.
The Buddies battled to a morale-boosting 2-1 win at Ross County last weekend despite being down to 10 men.
McNamara has warned his players they must be at the top of their game if they are to come away with full points from their league encounter.
He said: "That was a great result for them away to Ross County. They did it with 10 men which says a lot about them.
"They will have taken a lot of confidence from that, being a man down but coming back to get the winner. So they will be dangerous opponents.
"We will have to play well if we are to go down there and come back up the road with three points.
"We all know that and that's what we will be aiming for on the night."
United are in the middle of a hectic schedule which includes a League Cup semi-final with Aberdeen at the end of the month.
McNamara is planning to use his squad to the fullest in order to ensure they cope well with the demands.
He added: "We have a lot of important games coming up - this one, Motherwell at Tannadice on Saturday and then the League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.
"So I think we will see most of the players getting used at one point or another.
"We are going about things a little bit differently this year because we have a stronger squad.
"That allows us to rotate it a bit more which is good from our point of view."
Gary Mackay-Steven is preparing for his first match since signing a pre-contract with Celtic and McNamara is confident he will continue to be a key player for the Tangerines.
He said: "From my point of view, there is no change as he will be going in the summer. He has a big part to play for us until then.
"He is playing well for us and his attitude has been spot on."
United could hand a debut to former Motherwell striker Henri Anier, who signed on Friday ahead of the postponed game against Inverness.
John Souttar is still out with an ankle injury but Callum Morris hopes to be fit as he recovers from an Achilles injury, with Mario Bilate (hamstring) still sidelined.
St Mirren will have Yoann Arquin available.
The former Ross County striker was sent off on his debut for a challenge on Dingwall defender Lewis Toshney but Saints have appealed against the decision.
Striker Steven Thompson (hernia) remains out and Saints have released forward James Marwood.
Source: PA
