Dundee United have trolled their next-door neighbours after Dundee blamed climate change for a raft of postponements.

Dundee club secretary Eric Drysdale pointed to the impact of global weather issues after their cinch Premiership encounter with Rangers was postponed on Wednesday night for a second time.

United used their official X account to take a light-hearted dig at their city rivals as they posted photographs of Jim Goodwin and his squad training on their pitch ahead of their cinch Championship encounter with Morton at a sunny Tannadice.

The caption read: “The perfect climate for #MORUTD fine-tuning”, and was followed by a sunshine emoji.

The two clubs’ grounds are about 200 yards apart.

United recently advertised for a new head groundsperson with the previous incumbent, Paul Murray, set to move to Dundee in the summer, with the Premiership club relying on contractors in recent weeks.

Dundee have had five postponements this season due to a waterlogged pitch and Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell claimed parts of the surface were unplayable after his side’s win at Dens Park on Saturday, which only went ahead after a second, late inspection.

Speaking after Wednesday’s postponement, Drysdale pointed to bad luck with home fixtures coinciding with storms.

And he added on Sky Sports News: “I can understand that people are annoyed and are looking at this as being Dundee’s fault.

“What I would say is that, from the research that we’ve done in the last few days, we note that this year’s rainfall is 35 per cent higher than the last 10 years’ average.

“That shows the effects that climate change is having on it and it appears we need to urgently do more work on the Dens Park pitch and we are absolutely up for doing that in the summer.”

Another Dundee-based team had a cheeky dig at the Premiership club, whose ground is sponsored by Scot Foam.

Writing on Facebook ahead of a cup tie at the Riverside playing fields in the city on Wednesday evening, the Tayside Fire Brigade AFC, who play in the Dundee Saturday Morning Football League, said: “Fortunately for us the game is not at the Scot Foam tonight therefore, the game goes ahead.”

Boss Jim Goodwin insists strengthening Dundee United’s defence is imperative if they are to bounce back from the bitter disappointment of relegation.

United’s defensive frailties were evident again as Motherwell battled back from behind to claim a 3-2 win at Fir Park and condemn them to the drop.

“I think the game pretty much summed up the season to be honest,” said Goodwin.

“”It culminates what has been a disastrous season defensively from start to finish and that’s something that I now need to look at going forward to make sure we bring the right types of defenders in.

“Defenders who enjoy the art of defending, enjoy putting their bodies on the line, take pride in keeping clean sheets and that’s where my first port of call will be in terms of the recruitment side of things.

“Dundee United in the Premier League is an attractive proposition for any player, Dundee United in the Championship, maybe not so much for some of the high-calibre players that you would like to bring to the club.

“We’ve got decisions to make, but what I need to make sure is the type of players that are coming in during the summer have the right characteristics, right mindset and can handle the level of expectation at such a big club.”

Goodwin remains hopeful he can retain the services of Steven Fletcher, who netted his 10th goal of the season in the defeat to Well.

The former Scotland striker still has a year remaining on his contract, though there has been speculation that he will depart the club following their relegation to the Championship.

“I had a brief conversation with Fletch last week, just to see where his head was at and what the future might hold for him,” added Goodwin.

“He’s a player that I would love to hang on to, if you had 11 Steven Fletcher’s on the pitch then you certainly wouldn’t be sitting in this position and talking about relegation.

“Fletch is the one that is holding the cards at the moment, he is under contract, and I would love him to be here to help us bounce back up, but we have to give him a bit of time to decide what he wants to do.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell is hoping to build on the momentum gained from an incredible finish to their league campaign.

The Steelmen have lost just two of their 14 league fixtures during Kettlewell’s tenure – something he is keen to continue when his players return for next season.

“It’s obviously massive for us, that’s what we have to strive to do,” said Kettlewell.

“It’s not going to be easy; it’s going to be very difficult – there’s no doubting that.

“As much quality and continuity as I can keep within the group, I think it is evident that we are a pretty decent side.”

The Motherwell boss also again heaped praise on prolific striker Kevin van Veen, who extended his run of goals in consecutive games to 11 – setting a new Premiership record in the process.

“I have to pay testament to the run that Kevin has been on, it’s pretty breathtaking when you look at it,” he added.

“I know he’ll be disappointed not to get to that 30 mark, but if you are scoring 29 goals in this league you are doing something right.”

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin admits defensive blunders have very likely cost them their top-flight status after a 3-0 home defeat by Kilmarnock left them needing a football miracle.

Cinch Premiership bottom club United need to beat in-form Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday and hope Killie beat Ross County and somehow engineer an eight-goal swing along the way.

Goodwin appeared to be masterminding a United revival after being appointed as the club’s third manager of the season on March 1 but they have now lost four matches on the trot.

United gifted Kyle Vassell two first-half goals and never really looked like getting back into the game before substitute Innes Cameron netted late on following a counter-attack.

Goodwin said: “I came in and people thought I was mad, but I genuinely thought I could turn it around and we did get a bounce from the players.

“Unfortunately the defensive frailties reared their head again and ultimately that’s what’s cost us. It’s one of the lowest points in my career.

“We will go to Motherwell on Sunday and give it our best shot. I am one of the biggest optimists out there so I will always try to be positive and believe the impossible can sometimes happen.

“But, of course, it’s an eight-goal swing so we have to go to Motherwell and score a hell of a lot of goals then hope Kilmarnock hammer Ross County. The likelihood of that happening is obviously very slim.

“But at the same time we have to go to Motherwell and play for pride and try to earn back the respect of the fans.

“The fans have every right to show their emotions the way they did at the end.

“There isn’t a player in there who can’t accept their part in it. There are good, talented individuals within the squad.

“But as a team this season simply hasn’t been good enough and I said that to them in the dressing room.

“As managers, myself, Jack Ross and Liam Fox we will take our share of the blame because we are in it together.

“As a team it hasn’t been good enough and the league table doesn’t lie.”

Killie manager Derek McInnes hailed his side after they kept themselves in pole position in the survival race, but they still need at least a point at home to County to avoid a relegation play-off.

McInnes said: “There is still work to do, nobody is over-celebrating or getting ahead of ourselves, but it’s important we enjoy the moment.

“The supporters came up in huge numbers and it’s great to send them home probably feeling a lot more optimistic.

“But we have still got a tough game to navigate, it’s all or nothing. It is set up nicely for both teams and we have a job to do but what pleased me was the performance and our approach to the game.

“We were very confident, we asked the players to play with optimism and belief and we had that. We were aggressive with our work and imposed ourselves on the game and with the position Dundee United were in, getting that first goal was crucial.

“All week I have been getting asked about the pressure and anxiety of players and how we handle that and I thought the players dealt with the game really well.”

Jim Goodwin has told his Dundee United players “to not feel sorry” for themselves ahead of the battle with relegation rivals Kilmarnock on Wednesday night.

The Terrors’ boss was dismayed by the goals conceded in the 2-1 defeat at Livingston on Saturday and their third successive loss after three straight wins kept them bottom of the cinch Premiership, two points behind Ross County and three behind Killie, with two fixtures remaining.

After the visit of Kilmarnock, the Tannadice side take on Motherwell at Fir Park in the final fixture of the season on Sunday and Goodwin, who was appointed United manager on a short-term contract in March, stressed positivity to his players at a meeting on Monday.

“The key message was to not feel sorry for ourselves,” said the Irishman, who will make a late decision on Steven Fletcher’s groin injury which kept him out the trip to West Lothian.

“I don’t want to see anyone mumping and moaning about the place.

“I want to see everyone nice and bright which I think I got at training this morning, there was a positive reaction.

“We are not brushing anything under the carpet.

“We have spoken about the mistakes we made on Saturday and we emphasised again the importance of Wednesday in terms of making better decisions in those key moments and if we do that then  we give ourselves a really good chance.

“I don’t think there is a great deal between the two teams.

“I think it will be a close affair again like most of the games in the league are but there is lot of stake for both teams.

“But we have some very good players in that dressing room who are more than capable of turning it on and hopefully we see that on Wednesday.

“Every game since I came through the door has been massively important  and the next one is the most important but Wednesday night is the biggest game of the season.

“We don’t need to over-emphasise what is at stake. We are still in the fight.”

Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin insisted his side are still in a good position in their battle against the drop, despite his side’s 1-0 defeat to St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

Saints’ captain Liam Gordon steered home just before half-time after United were unable to clear their lines and the visitors saw Charlie Mulgrew sent off in the second half as they failed to find a leveller.

The defeat ended a run of three successive cinch Premiership victories and Goodwin urged perspective as he praised the attitude of his side.

He said: “If we’d gone down without a fight then I would be very disappointed, but the character is there in the group.

“We are in a decent position if you consider where we were prior to the Hibs game. If I was sitting here still five points adrift, I’d be very concerned. But we’re not.

“We are still level on points with Kilmarnock, albeit Ross County have closed that gap.

“It looks like it will be between the three of us at the bottom and we have great belief in the group.”

St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean, meanwhile, played down the five point gap his side have opened up ahead of the teams below them as he praised the collective effort of his team.

MacLean, who earned a point against Hibs in his first game in interim charge, saw the Saints win at home for the first time since beating Rangers 2-1 in early November.

He said: “It’s massive but it’s only a cushion. I don’t look at other teams. People pointed out last week that teams had won under us but I’m only interested in our club and what we do.

“I think you can see that we’re improving and we’re getting better and if win our games then we’ll be fine.

“We don’t just defend as a back four. We defend from the front and also Liam Gordon has scored the goal so it’s a collective. We don’t work as individuals – we’ve got to be good as a group. I’m delighted for everybody.”

St Johnstone have another home match against Motherwell next week and MacLean – who is relishing his role as interim boss – hopes they can use Saturday’s result to build some momentum and go on a run of wins.

He added: “There’s improvement in this team. I think everybody can see that we’re getting there. We’re working hard in training. You can see slight changes that we’re making and hopefully they’re enjoying it as much as I am but I think we can get better too.

“I want to keep winning. I’m not just about one or two games. I want to go on a run and I want to make this team better like I know they can be.

“I want to concentrate on Motherwell next week. I’ll watch their games and we’ll work in training for Motherwell and try to win the game.”