Scottish Premiership: We rode our luck admits Dundee United boss Jackie McNamara

Jackie McNamara was delighted as Dundee United moved top of the Scottish Premiership table with a 3-0 victory over St Mirren at Tannadice.

Paul Paton, Nadir Ciftci and Charlie Telfer were the goalscorers, although manager McNamara admitted they rode their luck at times, especially during the first half.

He said: "It flattered us a wee bit to be one-nil up at half-time but there were signs that we were getting back to our best after that.

"St Mirren came at us in the first half and caused us a few problems.

"Rado (keeper Radoslaw Cierzniak) had a good save for us early in the second half to keep it at one-nil and when our second goal goes in you can see that everyone is a lot more confident.

"It was a massive difference from last Saturday when we lost away to Inverness. There's always room for improvement and that's what we will be trying to do.

"We made a few changes to freshen things up and it worked well for us. It was a bit of a gamble but it paid off.

"It's a good League Cup draw too, to look forward to against Aberdeen, in the semi-final.

"It's like going back to the old days with the New Firm and the Old Firm. It's great for everybody concerned."

St Mirren came at us in the first-half and caused us a few problems

Meanwhile, St Mirren manager Tommy Craig felt Adam Drury's miss just after the break was the turning point in the game.

Craig said: "That's been the story of our season. It showed itself within the space of just a few minutes.

"We were clean through and didn't finish at the start of the second half and then they go up the park and score, so it's very frustrating.

"Until we consistently put the ball in the net we're always going to be looking over our shoulders.

"In a nutshell that's where we are. I thought going in a goal down at half-time was a wee bit harsh on us.

"But once United go two-nil up they get their tails up and once it goes to three-nil they could maybe have got more.

"I don't really know what more I can say. I think that game sums up our season so far.

"My main concern is getting this team to pick up points. But we're working hard to make sure we don't get cast adrift."