Dundee United manager Micky Mellon has ordered his players to rediscover their fire ahead of Tuesday's Betfred Cup clash with Kelty Hearts.

United suffered a deserved 1-0 home defeat by Peterhead on Saturday to leave them in danger of an early exit from the tournament with a trip to Perth to face group leaders St Johnstone to come next month.

The Tayside club first host Barry Ferguson's Kelty Hearts and Mellon wants his side to approach the game the way they should have done against Peterhead.

Mellon told the club's DUTV: "You absorb the criticism that comes your way, it's part of the game, and it will do because this is a big football club and a very proud football club.

"And you go back in again on Monday and work hard, which I will do with the group again.

"We go again on Tuesday night and you hope that the required fire that the players should have been turning up with on Saturday, they turn up with on Tuesday night and they give a performance of a player playing for Dundee United. It's as simple as that."