Houston blast after 'embarrassing defeat'

An angry Peter Houston has issued a stark warning to his Dundee United players by telling them their honeymoon period is very much over.

His comments followed what he described as the Arabs' worst performance since he took over from Craig Levein in December, after they crashed 4-0 at home to Inverness Caledonian Thistle.

And to compound his frustrations his side was virtually the same one that led the Tangerines to their Scottish Cup final victory last May and an eventual third place in the Scottish Premier League.

"It was a disgraceful performance," he told BBC Sport. "Last season is well and truly done as far as I'm concerned.

"I felt Inverness worked harder than us. They got a break with the first goal, but they were sharper and quicker to the ball and I've got to ask questions why and I have asked some questions why.

"And it's something we need to get to the bottom of because I don't think we had many leaders out there," Houston continued.

"I felt more hunger and desire came from the Inverness team. They played well, but it is an embarrassing defeat for us to lose 4-0 on our own turf."

Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.