for the Cup final the following week and also put an end to United's unbeaten run. Manager Tommy McLean then brought in former Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Siggi Jónsson but he would spend most of the season in and out of the first team due to injury. United made the journey through to the West again just a week later, this time for the League Cup Final, held at Ibrox due to restructuring works at Hampden. After five appearances in the final of this competition during the 1980s, this was the club's first League Cup final in 11 years, and thousands of Arabs travelled through for the club's first major final since the Scottish Cup win in 1994. The United fans were in fine voice and there was a carnival atmosphere at the stadium, but the game itself was a disaster, as Celtic won easily 3–0. Into December and United failed to score in their next three games, making it five games in a row without a goal. 0–0 draws against Dunfermline and Hearts at Tannadice was followed by a 1–0 defeat against Motherwell at Fir Park, but the side returned to winning ways with a 2–1 victory over St Johnstone at Tannadice with goals from Andy McLaren and Kjell Olofsson. The Christmas week match saw United travel through to Glasgow yet again, with another demoralising defeat, this time losing 4–1 to Rangers at Ibrox. New Year The first game in January saw United's first defeat by Aberdeen since 1995, with a 1–0 loss at Pittodrie, which was followed by a 1–1 draw with Kilmarnock at Tannadice where Robbie Winters scored for United. Winters scored again in the next match for his 16th goal of the season with the only goal of the game against Aberdeen at Tannadice, giving the team only their second win in 10 games. Kjell Olofsson scored as United were narrowly beaten 2–1 by Celtic at Tannadice, which was followed by a 2–0 defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle. Another signing brought ex-Trabzonspor striker Jean Jaque Misse-Misse back to Tannadice on a short-term contract, after impressing Tommy McLean in the UEFA Cup match back in August, but he failed to impress further and was released a couple of months later. February started with a 1–0 win over Motherwell at Tannadice with Kjell Olofsson scoring his 15th goal of the season and United also saw off Inverness