Jim Goodwin praised his partying Dundee United players for handling the pressure and expectation of being cinch Championship title favourites as they celebrated their return to the Premiership at the first time of asking.
Almost 10,000 Tangerines supporters rolled up at Tannadice to see homegrown striker Chris Mochrie net in the 78th minute and secure a 1-0 win over 10-man Ayr, a result that sparked a jubilant pitch invasion at full-time.
Although they are not arithmetically assured of finishing top of the table just yet, United are six points clear of second- placed Raith Rovers, who would need an unrealistic goal difference swing of 36 over the closing two matches of the campaign to catch the champions-elect.
“The players are enjoying themselves,” said Goodwin. “Anybody who has been in this position before will tell you it’s more a sense of relief than anything else, especially when the expectation and pressure is all on you as a group of players and staff.
“It’s not easy to get over the line but the boys have handled that level of expectation really well, particularly the younger players. It’s been a really enjoyable league campaign.
“It’s great that we’ve been able to do this with a couple of games to spare. We can relax now over the next couple of weeks, we can enjoy our training and look forward to the celebrations we’re going to have after the Partick game with our supporters.”
Goodwin joked that he had no concerns about his side’s partying causing them to squander their healthy goal-difference advantage over the closing two weekends of the campaign.
“Defensively we’ve been solid and scored a huge amount of goals and that has put us in the position that we’re in today where we’re able to celebrate,” he said.
“Of course, it’s not mathematically impossible (to be caught) and people will still say we need to wait a little while before we can be crowned as champions but given how well we’ve been defensively, I don’t see us losing that amount of goals in the next couple of games, regardless of how hard we party over the next few days.”
Ayr boss Scott Brown was frustrated by the decision to send off Nick McAllister on the hour mark after he caught Glenn Middleton with his elbow.
“I thought our lads were exceptional today,” he said. “For us, it is a very harsh red card. But if you put your elbow up, you give the referee that decision to make.
“Fair play to Dundee United for winning the game and all the best for them next season. But I was proud of my lads today.”
Salah's contract 'up to him and the club', says Slot
Arne Slot has asserted Mohamed Salah’s future is “up to him and the club”.
The Liverpool star has yet to make a decision on whether to renew his contract, and as it stands, will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season.
Salah remains a key player for the Reds, and leads the club for Premier League goals (seven) and assists (five) this term.
He scored the winner in the 72nd minute to complete Liverpool’s comeback against Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday, as they moved to the top of the table.
And despite the question marks over Salah's future, Slot is not concerned.
"[His future] is not what I think about. The only thing I think about is he is so important for us. Scores important goals, works hard for the team," the Liverpool boss told TNT Sports.
"I’m hoping he can enjoy that feeling many, many, many more times. Especially if I’m here but also if I’m not here. I’m hoping he can do this many more times.
"He’s been incredible for Liverpool over the past eight years. He’s been incredible for us this season and I hope he can continue doing this for the rest of the season and maybe longer to come, but that’s up to him and the club to find the idea about the future."
Salah could be in for a historic night on Tuesday when Liverpool face Bayer Leverkusen, having scored in each of his last five Champions League appearances at Anfield.
The last player to score in six consecutive home games in the competition for an English club was Ruud van Nistelrooy for Manchester United in April 2003.
Salah sparked renewed talk over his future after posting on Instagram on Sunday, saying that the feeling of scoring at Anfield would remain unforgettable “no matter what happens.”
But Slot was keen to quash any deeper meaning in the post.
"I haven’t spoken to him about that. You interpreted it in a way that maybe other people don’t," he told the press.
"I don’t look at Instagram posts of my players, I only talk to them which you can’t, which is the advantage I have.
"Mo is in a very good place at the moment. As long as he has been at Liverpool, he has been in a very good place, but this season again as well. I am hoping he will make a post after tomorrow and on Saturday again. What he said with that, that is not important.
"For me what is important is how he plays and what he tells me when we have conversations. That is what matters and not how you guys interpret one of his posts."
Neymar suffers fresh injury blow
Neymar sustained a new injury as he was forced off during Al-Hilal's AFC Champions League Elite win over Esteghlal.
Aleksandar Mitrovic plundered a hat-trick on Monday to seal a 3-0 win.
But Al-Hilal's victory was soured by an injury to Neymar, who had to make way just 29 minutes after he came on as a second-half substitute.
The Brazilian, who has just returned from over a year out of action following a serious knee injury, was forced off with what appeared to be a thigh issue.
Indeed, Monday's appearance was only the 32-year-old's second for Al-Hilal since his comeback.
He has featured just seven times for the Saudi Pro League champions in all competitions since his big-money move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023.
Rodgers delighted as Celtic rout Aberdeen in semi-final
Celtic booked their place in the Scottish League Cup final after hammering Aberdeen 6-0 at Hampden Park on Saturday.
The 21-time winners of the tournament were inspired by a Daizen Maeda hat-trick in a near-perfect performance against the Scottish Premiership's second-placed side.
Manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the result and performance from his side.
"It was a testament to our players and the demands they have. They play every week in big games. We have to manage this group through every game," he told Premier Sports.
"It was up to us to decide the game and the players did that. They were brilliant today. We were more aggressive in the second half.
"Aberdeen have had an excellent season, they will continue to work well I'm sure."
The result was Aberdeen's first defeat in 17 matches in all competitions this season, with a 2-2 draw at Celtic Park last month the only time they had previously failed to win.
Cameron Carter-Vickers got the scoring under way with a header 29 minutes in, before the brilliant Maeda sat down goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov to set up Kyogo Furuhashi for a second three minutes later.
Maeda then got in on the act himself on 40 minutes before the game briefly descended into farce on the stroke of half-time, with Rodgers shown a yellow card for kicking away a ball that had gone out before slipping over.
"To be fair, I was raging because we had given the ball away," he said.
"I have my moments, like every manager. It was just the game, even though we were comfortable at 3-0.
"It was a deserved yellow card. The speed of the ball [was the issue]. I just wanted to keep the tempo of the game."
Celtic and Maeda picked up where they left off in the second half to make it 4-0 in the 50th minute before Nicolas Kuhn hammered in a fifth on the hour.
The rout was complete when Maeda wrapped up his hat-trick as he finished off a flowing attacking move with five minutes to go.
After the match, Rodgers continued to be effusive about his team, who will face either Rangers or Motherwell in the final.
"An outstanding team performance. You come up against a team that has been so, so good. We knew it would be a challenge," he told BBC Scotland.
"We had to bring our A-game and the players did that, in particular during the second half.
"We were ruthless. We worked the ball really well to create the space and made good runs.
"It's a beautiful pitch here at Hampden. It's perfect for the football we want to play."
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