Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Utd out to show their credentials at Easter Road
PET E R Pawlett says Du ndee Un ited a re determined to show their Premiership credentials at Easter Road tonight.
The runaway Championship leaders face a different sort of test as they travel to a Hibs side sitting sixth in the top flight.
With a place in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup and a tie against BSC Glasgow up for grabs, the Tangerines head to the capital on the back of a 14-game unbeaten streak.
That included the first meeting between the sides at Tannadice, where United fought back twice to level through first Lawrence Shankland and then Louis Appere.
Despite holding their top-flight opponents, Pawlett reckons the Tangerines can play a lot better this evening.
He told the Tele: “Tonight is a big game for us and one we are all looking forward to.
“We want to show what we are capable of and get the right result.
“I think we can play better than in the first game – there is always room for improvement.
“Once the game settled down, we showed we could cope.
“They had their spells of pressure, we had ours.
“There was a bit of uncertainty over how the first game was going to go but, if we show the confidence and belief we have done over the past few months, show how good a team we are, then, hopefully, it will work out the right way.
“We’re confident. We know it will be tough but we can get through.”
At the weekend, United prolonged the impressive run of form that’s seen them avoid defeat in all competitions since the middle of October with a last-gasp header from Lawrence Shankland.
That came after the Tangerines trailed a stubborn Morton outfit for more than 70 minutes as it seemed their unbeaten league home record was at risk.
Pawlett, though, says he was always confident they would level things up.
He added: “We’ve been in good form and we want to stay unbeaten for the rest of the season.
“Shanks popped up again and saved us on Saturday but I always knew if we kept plugging away it would come.