Dundee United boss Craig Levein has launched a stinging attack on Scottish Football Association president George Peat for accusing managers of criticising referees to deflect attention away from their own poor performances.

Several Clydesdale Bank Premier League bosses have clashed with match officials this season, with Peat claiming this could lead to problems with recruiting referees in future.

But Levein has hit back, saying: "Could you remind me who George Peat managed?
"How would he know for a second how a manager thinks? His comments were not helpful, were they?

Levein, who yesterday signed a three-year extension to his Tannadice contract, was fined £5,000 earlier this year for criticising Mike McCurry following a game at Rangers in which he felt the referee made three glaring errors.

But the United boss insists he has no agenda against officials and urged Peat to organise more summits between managers and referees, similar to the one held in pre-season.

He added: "I think managers and referees are trying to get on. I know I publicised the Mike McCurry situation last season and if it happened again tomorrow I would do exactly the same thing.

"I had a go at Brian Winter down at Kilmarnock about the Christian Kalvenes sending-off but I have learned that anybody can make one mistake.

"You won't hear me criticising the referee if he is going through the game and making one mistake. But what happened with Mike McCurry that day was, to me, beyond the norm.

"The players and managers, in my opinion, are trying to be as respectful as possible.
"I was at the meeting with the referees at the start of the season and it was really good.

"What I would like to ask George Peat is has he organised the next meeting? It's something that should be done a couple of times a season.
"It would be handy to have a meeting mid-season to discuss things that had gone on previously. If you put a manager and a referee together on the touchline, there is a chance someone will say something they regret."