Glasgow Celtic delivered another classy display to claim a place in the last four of the Scottish FA Cup.
Joe Ledley clipped the Bhoys ahead in the 53rd minute as Celtic eventually got the goal their dominance deserved.
Then Samaras added a second, while Anthony Stokes and a Scott Brown penalty completed the rout, but the main talking point at the fixture was manager Neil Lennon threatening a media ban.
Lennon believes that sections of the Scottish press are trying to bring Celtic into Rangers financial problems.
"There's a lot of muckraking going on between some hacks.
"There's going to be a lot of media outlets disappointed, because me and the players are not going to be speaking to you.
"We decided not to do a press conference this week because of all the nonsense that's going on elsewhere.
"So we decided we're not even going to bother with you this week and just get about our business quietly and we'll do our talking on the pitch."
Lennon, who only spoke to the broadcasting rights holders, was happy with Celtic's display after the interval.
"I thought we were not like ourselves in the first half, but in the second half I thought we were terrific. To give United credit, the scoreline probably flattered us. If we play like we did in the first half, there will be no treble."
At the semi-final stage Celtic will face either Hearts or St Mirren at Hampden Park in mid April, while Aberdeen and Pat Fenlon's Hibernian will be in the other tie at the penultimate stage.
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