Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin admitted he would have been “lambasted” if his team selection had backfired against St Mirren.
The Terrors edged through to the quarter-finals of the Premier Sports Cup as a solitary Ross Graham goal secured a 1-0 win.
Kevin Holt also played a key role, with the central defender employed in midfield, and Goodwin confessed he was relieved that the move paid off.
The manager said: “I asked Kevin Holt to play as a defensive midfielder and give the back three a bit of insurance, and I thought Kev was outstanding.
“A lot of people might have been scratching their heads before the game, but he won pretty much every aerial duel, physical battles and picked up so many second balls.
“Kev definitely deserves a special mention. He was extremely disciplined and played a huge part in us getting that clean sheet.
“It’s not a position I’ve seen Holty play before. I’ve seen him play left-back for Partick and left centre-back in a four. But I had a good conversation with him yesterday. He’s such a team player and he didn’t make any bones about it.
“We felt we had to go with more physical presence. Thankfully it paid off. Had it not, I might have been getting lambasted!”
Meanwhile, Buddies boss Stephen Robinson refused to use his side’s midweek exertions in the Europa Conference League against Brann in Bergen as an excuse for the defeat.
Robinson said: “I don’t deal in excuses. We played the game today with six players and, if five players don’t turn up, you’re going to lose the football match.
“We lost the game on a set-play and that was ultimately the difference. We didn’t create but I don’t think United created much either.
“We are tested to the limit with injuries but I was pleased by Fraser Taylor and Ethan Sutherland. Those were the positives from today.
“I’m asking the players to go again and again. There are some who have chips in the bank from last season but they need to step up.
“We liked the feeling of Europe and liked what we saw. But we won’t get that feeling again unless we improve performances.
“We have to reset ourselves. Hopefully we have a few more bodies back next weekend. But we need to be a lot better than we were today.”
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