The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Nerves not an issue for Tangerines
Dundee United believe they have the biggame players capable of coping with the crunch Championship clash against Dunfermline.
With the Pars banging in the goals and sitting pretty at the top of the table, the Tangerines find themselves as underdogs going into the big one at East End Park on Saturday.
However, manager Ray McKinnon has taken a look through his team and is confident that there won’t be any nerves in the away dressing room before kick-off.
Picking out two men in particular – striker Scott McDonald and midfielder Fraser Fyvie – the Tannadice gaffer has no worries about his players handling the pressure.
During a long and illustrious career, McDonald famously scored two late goals for Motherwell to ruin Celtic’s hopes of the title back in 2005, notched a Champions League winner for the Hoops against AC Milan, netted opening goals against Manchester United and Dynamo Moscow and grabbed the only goal in an Old Firm game at Ibrox.
Fyvie became Aberdeen’s youngest-ever player when he made a man-of-the-match debut against Hamilton aged just 16, was part of Wigan’s winning FA Cup campaign then lifted the Scottish Cup and won promotion with Hibs.
So nerves are not really a problem for these guys.
McKinnon said: “I am really looking forward to what I’m sure will be a good game.
“We have had Dunfermline watched a couple of times and they are a good team, not too dissimilar to what they were last season.
“They have a good balance to their side and their players have consistently been playing together.
“We have had a good record against them and hopefully that stays the case this season.
“But it will be a tough one for us because they are going well and are sitting at the top of the league, albeit we are not far behind them.
“What we have in our favour is that we have big-game players like Scott McDonald and Fraser Fyvie hitting peak fitness.
“Fraser is another one of our players who missed pre-season but I had a chat with him just the other day and he was telling me that this is the best he has felt in two years.
“So I was really happy to hear that and his reaching that level of fitness has coincided with an improvement in his performance level.
“He is starting to hit his peak and I’m delighted with that.
“They are both experienced players who will be relishing a match like this.
“It’s great news that they are getting back to fitness and they will be key men for us.”
Also worth a mention was James Keatings, who was a pre-match doubt for the 2-1 win over Morton after suffering a dead leg in a bounce match. However, he came into the side and added muchneeded attacking potency.
Indeed, he was a serious candidate for the man-of-the-match award that went McDonald’s way.
“The improvement was there for us against Morton on Saturday and we were more of a threat up top,” said McKinnon.
“Obviously, James and Scott playing together helped. That gave us a good partnership in attack and a real focal point for the team.
“James almost missed out with a dead leg so I still think there is a lot more to come from him.
“I think it took Scott seven games to get to the level he needs to be at and I think it will take James three or four to get to his level. So when you consider how he played against Morton it is encouraging to think that he still has a bit to go.
“He is not there yet and we are not expecting anything miraculous from him.
“He is having to get his fitness up by playing games but that’s just how it has to be.”