United skipper sorry for reaction after play off defeat
Skipper Sean Dillon has apologised for his angry spat with Dundee United fans in the wake of the club's failed promotion bid.
But he warned he will happily face down anyone who accuses him of not caring about the club's latest disappointment.
The Tannadice outfit face 12 more months in the Championship after losing their play-off decider 1-0 to Hamilton.
Greg Docherty's second-half strike sent Accies support wild as they celebrated clinching a club record fourth straight season in the Premiership.
But Dillon had to be held back from confronting a group of away supporters after the final whistle sounded at the SuperSeal Stadium.
The defender, who is now out of contract after a decade with the club, said: "Look, I shouldn't react, I shouldn't be reacting to anybody, but emotions are high. It was a guy or a couple of guys and the way I took it was that they were making out as if it didn't mean anything to us or me.
"I shouldn't have reacted and I apologise to anyone I might have offended or upset. I shouldn't have done it, no matter what people say or how they react I shouldn't say anything, but emotions are high.
"There's been a huge amount put into this by everybody involved and the fans are included in that, they've put a lot into it, a lot of time, a lot of money, but I should never react to anything like that and I apologise.
"Of course it hurts. I know how much it means and if anyone thinks I don't care let's have a good chat about it, because there's no way I'm not hurting over that or not feeling that.''
Hamilton had to cope without skipper Michael Devlin and Massimo Donati due to injuries, while battler Darian MacKinnon was suspended.
But boss Martin Canning hailed his side's spirit as they fought for a win which sees them stave off the threat of relegation once again.
"When you are Hamilton Accies and in the Premier League it's never going to be plain sailing,'' he grinned. "We always get written off and you can sort of understand it when you look at the budget and the size of the club.
"This is the first time ever Hamilton has been in the top league for four years in a row, so we've made a bit of history.
"I thought we deserved it. There was a lot riding on this game and thankfully for us we managed to win and stay up.''