DEILA UPSETS McNAMARA

DUNDEE UNITED boss Jackie McNamara has hit out at Ronny Deila over Celtic’s pre-contract signing of Gary Mackay-Steven.

The former Hoops skipper said: “He (Deila) has got his own way of doing things, but I wouldn’t want to speak about one of his players under contract.

“So, would I go out and speak about another player under contract and say I want to take him just now? No.

“Regardless of their manager wanting him now, that’s not the case for me. He shouldn’t be speaking about that.

“The important thing is to have him (Mackay-Steven) focused on the Inverness game and playing a big part in the team for the rest of the season.”

United issued a statement saying “several attempts” had been made to keep the player, including an offer that “would have made him one of the highest earners at Tannadice.”

However, McNamara added: “The club was always prepared for GMS leaving for nothing in the summer because it’s worth every penny of that financial hit to keep him here until the end of the season.

“He’s crucial to us, you can see that in the last three games where he’s been a huge influence on us getting points, so there’s no change.

“Obviously the fans will find out that he’s going and he has to accept certain things may come with that, but he’s a good boy and been a great servant to us.

“So, we are hopeful after he goes at the end of the season he’ll go on and be successful in his career.”