JIM GOODWIN | THERE'S ALWAYS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR AN UPSET

United Manager Jim Goodwin insists his side are making the journey to Glasgow this weekend with the intention of leaving with three points to give their cinch Premiership survival hopes a major jolt.

Watch Jim Goodwin's press conference in full below!

Positive Mindset

Whilst addressing the broadcast media at Fairmont St Andrews following our Corporate Golf Day, he began "We need to go into every game aiming to pick up maximum points.

"We’re not going there to play for a draw or keep the score down - that’s not in my mindset and it's certainly not what our objectives will be on Saturday. We respect the opposition but we have to believe we're capable of causing problems. 

"We can’t just go and turn in a good performance - we need to come away with something to show for it."

Goodwin was adamant the occasion shouldn't daunt his group of players despite the odds being stacked against them.

"They’re professional sportsmen at the end of the day - you can’t have a defeatist attitude.

"For many years Rangers and Celtic have been the top teams in the league and tend to go and compete for the title but there’s always an opportunity for an upset."

The gaffer also looks to take inspiration from a rousing 2-0 win for Scotland against former world champions Spain on Tuesday night. Former United full-back and Champions League winner Andy Roberston skippered the side to a memorable victory.

"I was at the game and the game plan adopted by Scotland is something that we perhaps have to replicate on Saturday.

I thought they were so disciplined and worked extremely hard without the ball. But they still offered an attacking threat when they had it. Something along those lines would be perfect for us."

VAR Frustration

After a frustrating draw against St Mirren last time out due to a dubious penalty decision which saw Loick Ayina penalised for an alleged foul on Curtis Main, the 41-year-old gave his opinion on the implementation of VAR in Scottish football and how the technology should be utilised going forward.

"We knew there were going to be teething problems initially. Some of the decisions in the early part of the season were taking too long.

"If you look at the penalty against St Mirren, it took more than three minutes to reach a verdict. If you need to look at something for that length of time it's not clear and obvious.

"There’s very little there in terms of contact - for that reason VAR is there to step in and relay the message to the referee then look at the monitor."

Goodwin added "I’ve been a big advocate for VAR - it’s an important step for us as a country. The big European leagues are using it and we need to keep up but we need to get better at it.

"We all want the decisions to be quicker and need common sense to prevail. That penalty has cost us two points - those would’ve put us level with Ross County and made the league table look better."

Interrupted Rhythm

United faced another two-week hiatus from action due to the international break which was both a gift and curse according to the gaffer.

"When the team is playing well you don’t want the break. We feel we put in a decent performance against Livingston and played really well against St Mirren and we wanted to put a run together and get some rhythm. Unfortunately, the break came and put those plans on hold. 

"We’ve had a few injuries to contend with over the last ten days and some away on international duty - it's not easy to put a session on because you’re so limited on numbers.

"Therefore, it gave me the opportunity to bring four or five of the youngsters from the U18s and the B team to see how they compete with the first team. A number of them did very well.

"Physically the boys have worked really hard - you can always get fitter and stronger and that’s something we’ve tried to push in the last ten days"

Chopping And Changing

Having been in the hot seat for just three matches, the Irishman is still tinkering to find his favoured XI and stresses competition is healthy to ensure standards stay high.

"We have to have competition for places within the team - nobody can be assured of their place and the senior lads need to feel that bit of pressure coming from the youngsters behind them.

"Every position is up for grabs - it's as simple as that. The players who are in the team know the situation - if they don’t meet the levels required they’ll be out of the team.

"It happened already in recent games but I have to say the reactions from those players have been brilliant and they have done exceptionally well - Ryan Edwards is a prime example."

The skipper missed out on a place in the starting line-up for our match against Livingston but returned with interest three days later against St Mirren. Ten clearances, seven interceptions and eight aerial duels won are just a handful of stats from Edwards' defensive masterclass against the Buddies.

Call of Duty

Six of our first-team squad received the call of duty to represent their respective countries over the break, jetting off to far-flung corners of the globe. Now on their way back to the UK, they face a race against time to be involved against Rangers tomorrow.

"There are different arrangements for different players. Aziz, for example, was on the other side of the world and played a couple of games before travelling again."

Behich added to his plethora of caps for Australia in a double-header with South American outfit Ecuador as the Socceroos contested their 'Welcome Home' friendlies following a stellar FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar.

"We’ll need to be as protective as we can be with him but he’s a big player for us - we’ll mollycoddle him and ensure he’s for the energy levels needed for Saturday."

"Jamie McGrath didn’t feature for Ireland but was training so he’ll be in good shape, same goes for Ilmari Niskanen. 

"Everyone has come back injury free - that’s always a concern when your numbers are so low so we’re looking forward to having the whole group back together."

Team News 

Goodwin still faces a conundrum with team selection due to a number of injuries. Dylan Levitt and Glenn Middleton will miss out on tomorrow's game, whilst Charlie Mulgrew's involvement is subject to a late fitness test.

"Charlie just tweaked his hamstring ever so slightly before the St Mirren game. It’s nothing too serious.

"We’ll have a look at him on Friday and make a decision whether the game against Rangers is too soon.

"We would expect to have Charlie available if not this weekend then definitely the following weekend."

Pawlett Pushing

Peter Pawlett's return to action against St Mirren was also curtailed early, and the gaffer offered a further update on the lively attacker.

"Peter deserves a lot of credit - he put himself forward to start in the game against St Mirren. I had a good conversation with him about playing half an hour but I told him I wanted to start with as strong a team as possible.

"He was nowhere near as fit as he should be due to his injury but the break came at a very good time for him because we’ve been able to work him really hard physically.

"He looks as if the last ten days have done him the world of good - he looks fitter sharper and stronger.

"We need a fit Peter Pawlett - he gives us a different dynamic and he’s very positive and direct. He’s capable of assisting and scoring and that’s something we’ve lacked."