Tangerines must handle the heat

Dundee United manager Craig Levein has challenged his players to prove they can handle the pressure of being fancied to beat St Mirren on Saturday.

The Tangerines are hot favourites to dispose of Gus McPherson's side after recording an impressive win over Celtic and a creditable draw against Motherwell in their last two matches. United's fans have allowed themselves to begin dreaming of lifting the title since they lie only four points behind leaders Celtic and have a game in hand.

"The onus will be on us to take the game to St Mirren because we're at home and that's what people expect," he said. "So there's a new kind of pressure on us and the players have to handle that."

He added: "Against Celtic most people outside of Tannadice didn't expect us to win but this is the exact opposite.

"That's a new challenge for the players and they have to cope with that.

"How they handle the pressure is going to be important on Saturday.

"But I see a resilience in the dressing-room and with the attacking players we've got I'm confident it will be a good game.

"We'll be going out to score goals and do our best to win the game but it won't be easy.

"St Mirren have been doing well this season.

"Peter Houston (assistant manager) has been to see them a couple of times recently and he's come back really impressed. Against Hibs they could have had the game won so we know all about their quality."