Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Tannadice boss criticism but is
JIM Goodwin expects criticism when “big” clubs like Dundee United lose matches.
Even more so in the Scottish Championship where the expectation going into every match is to win.
Goodwin is not surprised to see some get “carried away” after defeat, especially at Tannadice.
The United boss is pleased with the return he has had from his players after 25 matches, despite Tuesday’s loss that allowed Raith Rovers to draw level on points.
But he expects a reaction when his charges face a quick turnaround over the coming days.
Tomorrow’s trip to face thirdplaced Partick Thistle is followed by an away fixture versus in-form Morton on Tuesday night.
There are no fresh injury concerns, though midfielder David Wotherspoon is likely to miss the double-header and is eyeing his return against Arbroath a week on Saturday.
“Everybody is OK apart from Wotherspoon and (Ross) Docherty,” added Goodwin.
“Morton will come too soon for Wotherspoon, but I would expect to be fit for the following Saturday.”
Looking back to the Airdrie defeat, he added: “I know what it is like at big clubs when you lose big games of football. People can sometimes get carried away.
“As a group and a staff we have never allowed that to affect us.
“We don’t get too high when things have been going well and we haven’t got too low when we have had a rare defeat.
“The defeat the other night against Airdrie was only our fourth
defeat in 25 games. I don’t think that is terrible form at all.
“We just need to show a positive reaction. That is what we want and people expect. That is what we expect of ourselves. What happens at other clubs is irrelevant really. We are top of the league.
“We’ve put a lot into it to be in this position and we want to make sure we finish the job off.”
Partick Thistle is a fixture that has been kind to Dundee United this season, with the Terrors scoring eight times without reply in two meetings.
Moreover, Kris Doolan’s side is coming off the back of conceding 10 goals in their previous three fixtures.
A few days after that, United take on a Morton side that has avoided defeat in their last 16 fixtures in all competitions.
“Partick are third and Morton are fourth, as things stand,” added Goodwin.
“They will be difficult games, but we have had two good results against Partick.
“Our form against them has been good, but I think they are only
second in terms of goals scored in the league.
“That says a lot about the attack threat they possess.
“They have the (joint) top scorer in Brian Graham.
“They have some really dangerous players in the forward areas who can cause you problems.
“We just need to get back to doing the basics again, keeping clean sheets because we have conceded too many goals, which is unlike us.
“If we do that then we will give ourselves a really good platform to build from.”