The pitch at Tannadice has dried out but the clubs are bogged down in dispute

Craig Levein wants Dundee United fans to come out in force as it emerged that just 1,300 tickets have been bought by Rangers supporters for Tuesday's game.

The Tannadice match is a replay of last month's game that was abandoned due to flooding and many Rangers fans are not willing to buy the half-price tickets.

The home fans have bought 7,000 tickets but boss Levein wants United supporters to increase their numerical advantage.

He said: "It will mean a lot to have most fans in the stadium behind them."

The clubs have been in dispute since the match on 1 November was called off at half-time with the pitch waterlogged.

United chairman Stephen Thompson has set prices at £12 and £6 for the Scottish Premier League game, half the normal admission price, and has asked the SPL to set a policy on pricing rearranged matches.

But Ibrox chief executive Martin Bain has been critical of United, arguing that Rangers fans with ticket stubs from the original match should be entitled to free entry.

With the visitors likely to have around a quarter of their usual travelling support, Levein is keen that Terrors fans turn out to back their team and make Rangers' bid to go top of the league all the more difficult.

He said: "It's a great thing that our fans will outnumber the Rangers supporters.

"It's maybe not the best news financially, but from the playing side it's good.

"It's not very often that you will be able to play the Old Firm and outnumber their supporters by five or six to one.

"I'd urge every United fan who can make it to come along and support the team."

I agree with my own club's stance. I think it's a shame that supporters are being asked to pay again Rangers manager Walter Smith

His counterpart at Rangers, Walter Smith, added his opinion on Monday to the debate over the ticket pricing.

"I agree with my own club's stance. I think it's a shame that supporters are being asked to pay again," he said.

"If our supporters don't go, then that's their right and I'd agree with that.

"We might not have the vocal backing we have for most away games but I'm sure it won't affect the team that much.

"We've got a terrific away support that I must say help us on a general basis. We'll just have to handle it."

Rangers were allocated 5,600 tickets for the match, 2,000 of which were on sale at Tannadice.

United have sold 800 of this batch while the Ibrox club say they have sold around 500 of the allocation of 3,600 tickets sent to them for sale in the west of Scotland.

Rangers midfielder Kevin Thomson sympathises with his club's followers but insists that professional footballers must be able to adapt.

"We're paid to play regardless of how many people are watching," he said.

"The situation is disappointing but as players it doesn't matter if there's two men watching or 20,000, we still need to go out there and do our jobs.

"It will be a bit strange. We normally have a big support behind us but the intensity of the game won't change.

"We'll go there and give it 110%."

A win for United would move them into third place in the league, three behind Celtic and a point behind their opponents on Tuesday.

For Rangers, the incentive for three points is to move a point ahead of their Old Firm rivals at the top.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version