Dundee United boss Mixu Paatelainen says the club strategy at Tannadice is correct, despite his side sitting 11 points adrift at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership table.

United followed a positive result last weekend with an off-field lift, recording profits totalling almost £4million to help curb their debt and £800,000 operating losses.

The windfall came from the sales to Celtic of Stuart Armstrong and Gary Mackay-Steven plus Ryan Gauld’s transfer to Sporting Lisbon.

More departures have followed this season, as well as seven recruits by Paatelainen since October. The boss, who has been handed the third biggest budget in the league, backed the board's approach to reinvesting the cash.

"Money is everything to a football club," he said. "If there's no money, there's no club. That comes before everything. Of course, we want to manage the money well.

"How much the board has invested in players this season has been huge. It has been put back to the team. They have supported us and given back everything they can, to give us the best chance to survive.

"It's great that the club has made profit. We all know how quickly money is spent in football, it is an expensive business.”

John Souttar was the latest high-profile players to leave, departing on the final day of the January transfer window. Paatelainen says they will continue to rear their own young talent and recoup the proceeds.

“For a club our size, I think it's only natural and very important that the club looks to sell players to make revenue and survive," he continued.

"That's why we put a lot of emphasis on youth coaching, making sure we do everything to develop our own youngsters to make the first team.

"It is expensive to bring players in, if you produce young players and they make the first team and you sell them on, it's a healthy recipe.

"Dundee United is known for developing youngsters and selling them on but it is not the only club. Every club tries to do that. Hopefully that carries on, because that means we produce quality youngsters who are beneficial for the team."