Dundee United Manager Jim Goodwin spoke to the broadcast media to preview our William Hill Premiership clash with Rangers on Matchday 14.
Squad rotation, dealing with VAR controversy and the blueprint to beat the Gers under the lights at Tannadice were up for discussion as the boss held his pre-match press conference.
Watch in full below!
ON THE DEPTH OF THE SQUAD BEGINNING TO SHOW
We came through the game on Saturday without any issues, which was really pleasing. We were delighted to have the likes of Ross Graham, Max Waters and Ryan Strain available. All three of those players played in the game against Kilmarnock.
We always knew that this was going to be a difficult week for those players in particular. Being out for such a long period of time, it’s about managing those individuals properly and not forcing ourselves into a situation where we get a reoccurrence of the injury.
There might be one or two changes to the starting eleven tomorrow night, but it will be a similar squad to what we had at the weekend and a really strong, competitive squad.
It’s the time of year when there are so many games that you have to manage your squad because some players can handle the load and some simply cannot. We’re in a good position at the moment with the players that we have available.
That was something we lacked at the beginning of the season during the European period with Thursday–Sunday games and no luxury to freshen things up. Now we don’t have to ask as much of certain individuals because of the availability of others, which is positive.
ON ROSS GRAHAM AND MAX WATTERS’ RETURN TO ACTION
Ross Graham and Max Watters are two really important players in the spine of the team. Ross is our captain and a strong leader with a positive influence, whilst Max had a dream start before his injury. We’re delighted to have both back and training well and just having them in the dressing room alone being available is a real positive for everybody.
ON DAVE RICHARDS MAKING HIS FIRST START OF THE SEASON
Dave Richards did great. He’s experienced, has been first choice elsewhere, and we’ve no concerns about his ability or character. He’s been patient and had a comfortable evening.
He was unlucky with the penalty — made the initial save and the rebound fell kindly. He’s a great communicator and a valuable squad member. He has the gloves now and it’s up to him to keep them.
ON TARGETING A HUGE THREE POINTS UNDER THE LIGHTS
There has obviously been a change of manager at Rangers from the last time we played them. Danny Rohl has a more pragmatic approach compared to Russell Martin’s possession-based style.
They’re encouraged to go a bit more direct under pressure. They have good pace up the pitch and very talented individuals.
We performed really well at Ibrox in the last fixture. It’s not often I’ve left there disappointed with only a point having been 2–1 up with five minutes to go and lost an equaliser. We’ll take confidence from that.
Regardless of the manager, it’s a similar group of players. We know we can cause them problems and we have to try to do that tomorrow night.
We’ll be setting our stall out to try to win the game. We need to get the balance right between being aggressive in the press and being brave in possession, while also being disciplined in our structure at times. With their quality of delivery, we know we’ll have to defend the box aggressively.
Confidence plays a big part. They’re not on a great run of form, and while you’d expect them to be battling it out with Celtic, that’s not the case currently. But they still have very good players and deserve respect.
ON A DEFINING FEW WEEKS AHEAD
This period of the year is when the league begins to take shape. After the second round of games into the new year, you get a fairer reflection of the table. The league is extremely competitive.
Results this season have been unpredictable. We never got carried away early on when we were sitting high in the table, and we’re not being too hard on ourselves now. Some teams are playing fantastic football – Motherwell with the new manager, Falkirk under John McGlynn too.
It’s a difficult league, but we’re enjoying it. We have an opportunity tomorrow night to get back to winning ways.
ON SATURDAY EVENING’S PENALTY FRUSTRATION
I haven’t reached out personally to Willie Collum, but the club have asked for an explanation of the penalty decision. It wasn’t what was discussed at the start of the campaign regarding thresholds inside the box versus outside it. Had that contact been a free kick in midfield, there wouldn’t have been much said.
In a cagey, important game for both teams, we felt one goal would be enough. I felt comfortable defensively. That decision led to Kilmarnock taking the lead. I stand by what I said — no manager would want defenders penalised for that type of contact.
If that’s a penalty, then every long throw and set play would result in one. The frustration is that the referee wasn’t asked to look at the monitor. VAR exists to assist. From the still image I’ve seen of the referee’s position, I don’t think he had the best view.
Had he reviewed it, I’m confident he’d have overturned it. Hopefully we hear back soon. The panel are football people, so I expect they will share that view. As things stand, we’ve had no explanation. The Chief Executive confirmed we’ve not heard from the SFA yet. It’s the normal procedure.
We’ve had a few big decisions go against us. At Easter Road we received an apology for a penalty given at a crucial moment. Without that we likely win the game. Those two decisions alone could be worth four points — a huge difference come season’s end.
We want the standard of officiating to improve. None of our referees are at major tournaments right now — that speaks volumes. They’re human, but with VAR available, we just want the right outcome, even if it takes a few minutes.
