With the Dons ending a run of seven away defeats in the league with victory at Tannadice, the first away win since October 22nd at Motherwell, Barry Robson was full of praise for the attitude of his players.

“It’s no secret that the away form has been an Achilles heel for us, probably for a couple of years now. I said to the players all week that we needed to change it, and change it now. They ran and fought for each other in what was a difficult game.

“I can see the players want to go to war for the club, and that’s what you need at this stage of the season. I thought the players from both sides put on a good game, a proper Scottish game of football, and it was important for us to win it.

“We expected we’d need to weather a storm early on, and if Dundee United keep playing and fighting like that, I’m sure they’ll be safe, but we came through it. We stood up to everything they threw at us and then on the transition, we looked dangerous.

“It wasn’t always brilliant football but at times you have to just stay in the fight, and then the pitches at this time of year don’t help, it makes it hard for players to get the ball down and play. We will get better but while we’re doing that, we’ve got to dig in and fight for everything.

“The players have taken on board everything that me and Steve have tried to get across and they’re giving us everything they can. If they do that, they’ll do alright and we’ve got some boys here who are great examples of that.

“People ask why I made Shinnie captain when he’s only here on loan, but you could see why tonight. He wants to run for the club, win games, and he’s a great example to look at. He gets a tackle in on the edge of our box and that lifts the crowd, it lifts the team. That enthusiasm runs through him every day and that’s what you need if you want to be a player.”