Cadamarteri praises Terrors boss

Danny Cadamarteri has hailed Peter Houston for reinvigorating Dundee United's shellshocked players following the departure of Craig Levein. Houston is on the brink of masterminding United's greatest season for 15 years, with Sunday's Active Nation Scottish Cup semi-final against Raith Rovers the first of up to eight games that could yield a trophy and third place in the SPL.It is a far cry from the end of 2009, when the club's entire campaign threatened to go off the rails after Levein left to become Scotland manager.Caretaker boss Houston's first few games in charge proved a chastening experience and he initially withdrew from the race to succeed Levein.But he soon steadied the ship and the club are now playing as well as they ever did under his long-time mentor.Striker Cadamarteri said: "It was always going to be a massive shellshock, Craig Levein leaving."He bought pretty much all the players here and was like a father figure to them."To lose somebody so influential - not just on the football pitch but in these players' lives - was going to be a massive shock."Houstie obviously did well to pick up the pieces of that and keep a lot of normality in the squad."He's laid a platform for us to build a little bit of stability and push on from."It's just a case now of keeping the same mentality we've had all the way through the season."Raith defender Grant Murray is looking to end his 12-year quest for a Scottish Cup final appearance on Sunday.Murray was an unused substitute for Hearts when they beat Rangers 2-1 in the 1998 final at Celtic Park.The 34-year-old thought his chance of cup glory had gone when he signed for Rovers last summer so he is desperate now to take the final step."I was fortunate to be part of the Hearts squad that won the cup in 1998," the former Partick and Kilmarnock player said."I was on the bench that day and didn't get on but it was great just to be involved."It's something that lives with you for the rest of your life."There was Jim Hamilton, John Robertson and myself on the bench and I was hoping to get on."Every time a player went down, you were jumping up saying 'I want on, I want on', but it was one of these things."Hearts hadn't won the cup for years; they were winning 2-1 against Rangers, who were throwing everything at them, so it was a case of hanging on for the final whistle and they managed to do it."I definitely thought my chance had gone when I came to Raith Rovers."They had just been promoted from the Second Division, trying to establish themselves and stay in the First Division."But once you get on that cup run, win one game then win another, you build up momentum and players then realise they have nothing to fear."

Source: Team_Talk