VAN DIJK HITS BACK AT DILLON

VIRGIL VAN DIJK has hit back at Sean Dillon after the Dundee United skipper insisted the Dutchman set out to injure him during the League Cup Final.

Dillon required six minutes of treatment and a number of stitches, after a 50-50 challenge with the classy central defender. In the right-back’s absence, Kris Commons scored the first goal in the Hoops’ 2-0 victory.

The Tannadice defender, later sent off for a wild lunge at Emilio Izaguirre, felt justice was not served in his earlier confrontation with Van Dijk.

He said: “I think he left his leg in, I didn’t like it. I get the ball, he gets my leg and they get a throw-in. So that’s very frustrating.

“I’m not going to exaggerate it, but it’s a big gash, about three inches long maybe, and I needed seven stitches in it.”

But the Celt refuted Dillon’s version of events by insisting there was nothing in the challenge. He said: “No, never. I know we are not going to have the same conversations as we had last week, but I can honestly say I didn’t do anything wrong.

“I didn’t leave my foot in, I would never do that on a fellow player.”