DUNDEE United manager Craig Levein has blasted midfielder Danny Swanson for getting himself banned from Sunday's clash with Celtic.
The 21-year-old was sent off during the first half of Tuesday night's 2-2 reserve draw at Hamilton Academical, ruling him out of United's opening home game of the season against the champions.
Levein was relieved he has cover for Swanson but that
did not stop him laying into a player who saw red more than once for the first team last season.
"We've got plenty of cover for him, so, in that respect, it's not that big a blow, but it was a stupid challenge by Danny and one he could have hurt himself going into," said Levein. "He missed games last season and he's going to be out on Sunday. It was an act of sheer stupidity."
Meanwhile, former United midfielder Barry Robson insists he is determined to hit top form with Celtic this season.
The midfielder, 29, earned praise for his performances last term following his January move from Tannadice. He appeared to settle into life with the Scottish champions effortlessly and has been satisfied with the contribution he has made so far.
But Robson – who netted the winner against St Mirren from the penalty spot at the weekend – feels he now has to raise his game even further.
"This season I want to be right at the peak of my game," he said. "Because I worked hard, I played for the team and, yes, I contributed in other ways and played quite well, people praised some of my performances. But I wasn't at the peak of my game and that's the aim for this season, to play at the best of my ability. That's something that I have to achieve now and I am under the right coaching staff here to help me do that."
Robson credits Gordon Strachan with helping him improve as a player after just eight months at Celtic Park. And he insists he is more than willing to keep putting in the extra hours to ensure that development continues.
He added: "Although I was playing in the middle and really enjoying it last season, Naka's (Shunsuke Nakamura] been injured and I've been out on the right recently. That's meant a lot of extra work with the manager and he's been trying to teach me how to play because, at my previous clubs, I was given more of a free role in the wide areas and could go where I wanted.
"But when you are playing at Celtic, especially in Europe against high-quality opposition, you need to be more disciplined. That's something I need to learn."
• Dundee chief executive Dave MacKinnon has rubbished rumours the club were set to hold talks with foreign investors.
After a report suggested a group of Canadians were contemplating an investment in the Dens Park club, MacKinnon said: "There is absolutely no truth in this."
The full article contains 497 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
