Beware the return of former favourites

I’M not usually one for switching opinion willy-nilly but over the past weekend I’ve changed my mind — Dundee United are in for a real test on Saturday.

Last week, I said my team Queen of the South had no chance of upsetting the Tangerines at Tannadice this weekend.

However, after watching United struggle to string two passes together at Easter Road on Friday night and seeing the Doonhamers finally end their seemingly endless winless run at St Mirren, it’s going to be a battle.

And the main reason for me changing my thinking is John Rankin.

He might not have the legs any more and he’s never been the best on the ball but by sheer strength of personality he seemed to drag Queens out of their miserable run.

And for United — and any club for that matter — you’ve always got to be wary of your old favourites coming back to haunt you.

Rankin had only been in the door at Palmerston for a day — I’d bet he hadn’t even been to Dumfries yet — and he was already pulling on the captain’s armband.

He shouted and harried and demanded in the middle of the park — he also gave the ball away a fair bit, too, but I’m hoping that’s just rustiness — and combined with two young lads also making their debuts, freshened up the Queen of the South line-up.

Joe Thomson, on loan from Celtic, scored while Dom Thomas, on loan from Motherwell, has real ability with the ball at his feet and will test United’s full-backs with his dribbling.

And that’s an area of the Tangerines team that’ll still be smarting after Hibs’ Martin Boyle and Chris Humphreys ran them ragged at Easter Road.

United were as poor as they have been all season and go into the weekend in untested territory after losing two games in a row.

Confidence must be fragile for this one and coming up against a team that’s just had a heavy fog lifted, it’s a big examination of the Tangerines’ ability to get out of the division.

And with the mighty Doonhamers in town, I wouldn’t be surprised if they put a massive dent in any hopes of catching Hibs at the top for United.

Next week, who knows? If Queens get beat, I’ll be backing them for the drop again . . .

John Rankin returns to Tannadice this weekend with his new side Queen of the South.