KNEESY DOES IT
Playing through pain forces Sam to put his feet up every Sunday but he’ll soldier on to help title push
SAM STANTON admits he has been forced into shutdown every Sunday.
But he’s adamant the post-match pain won’t derail Dundee United’s title charge.
Midfielder Stanton has been a revelation since joining Ray McKinnon’s Championship leaders on loan from Hibs and it has been made all the more remarkable by his injury issues.
Acute tendonitis in his knee is severely restricting the time he can spend training with the rest of his Tannadice team-mates as they head to St Mirren today aiming for a fourth straight league win.
Stanton stays indoor every Sunday such is the after-match pain but swears he’s prepared to grin and bear it for the sake of their promotion push.
He said: “I have tendonitis in my knee so I can’t do much. I maybe only train once or twice a week.
“It’s just something I have to manage, it was the same last term at Dumbarton.
“It’s really sore on a Sunday and I don’t do much the day after a game. I pretty much have to spend my Sundays in the house letting my knee recover.
“I can’t do anything extreme anyway because I always have to be mindful of it.
“It’s quite painful, especially after games, but I just have to deal with it. I can get through games no problem but I have to tailor my week to make sure I’m right for a Saturday.
“It all stems from an operation I had about five years ago and it has been an issue since then. But now it’s about managing it.”
Stanton spends almost the whole week in the gym locked away from his team-mates and confessed it’s far from easy at times.
He said: “My normal week is usually spent going to the gym when the rest of the lads are out training. I’m still doing fitness work.
“Instead of being out there training with the rest of the group, in the early part of the week especially, I have to take the load off my knee.
“That means doing a lot of work on the bike because that keeps the strain off my knee but I still get the fitness work. “I would prefer to be out training with the rest of the lads but at the moment I can’t do that all the time.” United made it three wins on the trot by edging past part-time Brechin 1-0 last weekend but the early-season leaders know they face a different proposition away to Jack Ross’ side in Paisley this afternoon.
Stanton said: “Last weekend wasn’t great but the lads know that. However, we got the win and that was important.
“St Mirren away is one of the hardest games you can get in this league so it’s going to be a tough afternoon”
And Saints full-back Adam Eckersley insists his team can set out their Championship stall against United this afternoon.
The 31-year-old defender believes it’s the perfect time to issue a statement of intent as the Paisley side aim to make it three wins on the bounce when the Tannadice side come to town.
He said: “We can put a massive marker down for our ambitions if we can get a win over United.
“A lot of teams will be there or there about in the title race but I’m convinced we have the quality in our squad to be one of them.
“This game will be a chance to show that and there’s no reason why we can’t get a result.
“We don’t have anything to fear. If you look at both teams and go player for player then we should go into this test with confidence.
“We are also the home team so we will be going for the three points, that’s for sure.”