Dundee United boss Micky Mellon will look for fresh legs to get his side the goals they need to progress in the Betfred Cup.

United travel to Tayside rivals St Johnstone in their final match in the group stages on Tuesday night.

United are locked on six points with both Saints and Peterhead but have played a game more and need to make up ground following their shock home defeat by Jim McInally’s team.

Mellon’s side are unbeaten in five matches since that defeat but have recorded three goalless draws in that run – including one in Perth – and struggled to create chances in each of them.

They will be without Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland and the injured Logan Chalmers at McDiarmid Park but Mellon believes he can inject some energy into his team.

“Clean sheets are good but I keep saying we want to keep getting better and better all the time,” he told DUTV.

“You try and get that defensive side of things right. What we are trying to get better at, and we are capable of getting better at, that’s for sure, is coming out of that defensive unit and being better with the football and retaining the ball at the other end of the pitch.

“But that’s what we will keep working towards and we will keep setting the training sessions up and keep encouraging the boys to get better at that.

“We have just got to keep going, keep moving all the time. But what’s important is we are getting results. Of course we want the performances to keep getting better but we are certainly moving in the right direction.

“We will use the squad as we need to do in order to go to St Johnstone and try and get a result.

“There will be people that come in that need games and there will be ones whose energy levels will be at the right place that we believe will get us a better chance of getting a result.”

Livingston are looking to maintain their 100 per cent record when they travel to face Stenhousemuir. Robby McCrorie and Steve Lawson are on international duty but Ciaron Brown may still be involved as he has not yet left to join up with Northern Ireland Under-21s.

Hearts are looking to complete a perfect group stage record when they travel north to face East Fife while Paul Hartley takes his in-form Cove Rangers side to face former club Dundee.