ILMARI NISKANEN | "IT WOULD MEAN THE WORLD TO ME TO WIN THIS WEEKEND"

United comeback kid Ilmari Niskanen is determined to hold onto his place in the side after kickstarting his tangerine renaissance against Heart of Midlothian last Saturday.

90-Minute Performances

Reflecting on our eventual 3-1 defeat to Heart of Midlothian, he began "The run we’re on obviously isn’t great but last Saturday’s performance definitely gave us courage. Games last for 90 minutes though and we were disappointed to come away with nothing.

"It hasn’t put us down though - we know we have a strong squad of players and we’re confident going into Saturday’s game."

Back In The Fold

Although our number seven has been somewhat of a peripheral figure during the first few months of the campaign, he maintained a positive attitude and ensured his standards in training didn't descend.

Given the nod to start for the first time since October 22nd, the Finland international grabbed his chance with both hands as he turned in a fine display in the capital despite the outcome.

"It's really pleasing to hear the manager praising my work-rate and attitude - I’ve been putting plenty of effort in ever since I got here.

"This season has been difficult personally because I’ve not been playing as much as I’d like to, but I had my chance on Saturday, and did well - that was really important to me. It just felt brilliant to get back out there."

Kicking On

He stressed the importance of not resting on his laurels, as he looks to cement his place in the starting XI for the run-in.

"Now it’s about holding onto my place in the team. Not only that but I want to keep improving - I know I can do that and need to do it on a weekly basis. 

"I want to play every game from now until the end of the season but I need to keep performing every day in training and in all the games."

Scottish Cup Saturday

As we prepare to go head-to-head with Kilmarnock for a place in the Last Eight of the Scottish Cup, Ilmari and the rest of the squad are relishing a 'different kind of pressure'.

"I would say there’s pressure both in the league and the Cup - but it’s a good kind of pressure. Personally, I love it. We’re all professionals so we’re used to it - we can feed off the energy.

"We’re really looking forward to the game - cup games are always very special. It’s not long since we faced Killie so we want to bounce back quickly. We know how they play because we’ve faced them so many times this season but we need to focus on ourselves.

"We want to be aggressive and take the game into our own hands."

"It Would Mean The World To Me To Win"

Rounding off, the 25-year-old declared his love for the tangerine faithful, and reinforced the impact they can have on the outcome.

"Playing at Tannadice gives us such a big advantage - I love playing in front of our home crowd - it’s brilliant. It’s a really important factor."

"It would mean the world to me to win on Saturday."