Dundee United Manager Jim Goodwin spoke to the broadcast media to preview our William Hill Premiership clash with Dundee on Matchday 30.

The Terrors' boss covered a range of topics ahead of Sunday's Derby, including the potential of moving three points closer to the top six, his admiration for the fixture, securing bragging rights for Arabs and more!


ON TEAM NEWS

We’ve got a few players within the group who are still a little bit touch and go for the weekend to be honest. Obviously, Declan Gallagher came off up at Pittodrie, Will Ferry missed the game altogether and both Ross Docherty and Louis Moult were missing as well so we've got some big decisions to make in terms of what the team selection looks like.

It's 50-50 on all four of them. Luca Stephenson came into left back in place of Will against Aberdeen and did really well and Emmanuel Adegboyega replaced Gallagher and had a great game so we've got good options there depending on the situation.

You look around the leagues and most teams are in a similar situation where it's been a very demanding campaign for everyone - unfortunately, players pick up knocks along the way. We'll see what we've got available to us come Sunday. But we're confident that, whatever starting XI we do go with, it'll be good enough to go and get the result we need.

ON THE MAGNITUDE OF SUNDAY’S DERBY

I would say it's the biggest game of the season without a shadow of a doubt - there's lots at stake for both clubs. Dundee find themselves at the wrong end of the table, fighting for survival, with St Johnstone having picked up some good results of late and are now starting to apply a bit of pressure to Dundee. 

From our own perspective, we're right where we want to be at this stage of the season, competing for those top six places with one eye on European football as well - that's the incentive for our group. 

We feel over the last three fixtures we’ve kept ourselves in a good place and performed to a relatively high standard. Dundee are five or six games now without a win and they have been on a difficult run. But in these kind of derby games, the form tends to go out the window. It's the oldest cliche in the book, but it is a case of on the day, whoever can manage the emotions the best and perform better comes out on top. 

It's a huge game for both clubs, both sets of supporters and our boys are well aware of what it means to the fans.

ON KEEPING THE FOCUS ON THE NEXT GAME

We've tended to not get too bogged down with the league position. We set ourselves a target way back at the beginning of the season and we're bang on track to hit that target at the moment. Our objective was to make sure that we stayed in the Premiership, then as the season went on, those objectives changed.

Right now, it's all about the top six. There's still a bit of work to be done for us to guarantee that, but we have put ourselves in a great position. 

I would much rather be in the position that we're in as opposed to the teams outside the top six chasing it and relying on results. Things are in our own hands, which I think is all you can ask for at this stage.

ON USING THE RIVALRY TO FUEL THE FIRE

The rivalry between the two clubs is evident - there’s bragging rights at stake for the supporters.

We're still hurting from the cup exit at Dens last time out. We felt that we performed well on the night, it was just one of the rare occasions where we weren't able to find the back of the net.

We want to make amends for that one, but in the previous two league fixtures against Dundee, we've performed really well. The performance is important and we've got a certain way that we want to try and play, but ultimately, it's about making sure that you come out on top and just find a way to win the game - that's the important bit for us. 

ON TAKING ADVANTAGE OF DARK BLUE NERVES GIVEN THEIR PREDICAMENT

We've got to try and use every little thing to our advantage and we’re really relaxed going into the game given the position that we were in at the table. As I keep saying, everybody knows what's at stake. The players are well aware of what this fixture means to our supporters. You can tell by the incredible selling of the tickets that we've had - there's not one in the home end to be had and that tells you what this game means to our fans.

The players want to make them proud and give them plenty to cheer about. 

ON HIS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE DUNDEE DERBY

I haven't been at too many clubs throughout my playing career that involved some really big derbies, so the Dundee one is the biggest that I've experienced. I've loved it, I have to say. The three fixtures up to now have all been really good games with nothing between either team. The atmosphere that's generated by both sets of supporters has been brilliant.

As a manager, you want to be involved in big games. In the Scottish calendar, I don't think these types of games can get much bigger. The league this season is brilliant and it's great to have all of the regional derbies that we have with the Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee clubs. I think it's better for our competition as a whole in terms of the marketing of the product, hence why the game is live on the TV on Sunday. 

I'm delighted to be here. I've loved every minute of being manager of this club. It's just over two years now since I joined and it's been a really positive two years, I have to say.

Off the back of the relegation, what we've done since then in terms of the restructuring of the club and rebuilding of the squad to put us in this position, I'd say we've probably overachieved in terms of where we should be. I'm really excited for the game on Sunday.

ON BEING SURPRISED AT DUNDEE’S LOWLY POSITION IN THE TABLE

I’m surprised. I think a lot of people out there will be given the level of investment that was made in the Dundee squad in the summer. Tony Docherty has done a terrific job up to now and there will be nobody more disappointed from a Dundee perspective than him. I know how hard he works and what the job means to him.

Every team in the league at one stage or another, maybe outwith Celtic, have experienced some difficult moments. It’s about how you come through it. There's plenty of football left and I'm pretty sure that's the message that Tony will be giving to his players. I can't imagine he's going to have too many team meetings in terms of trying to motivate the players - the fixture speaks for itself. 

They've got real quality players throughout. Lyall Cameron has been snapped up by Rangers and Simon Murray always carries a threat at the top end of the pitch, but we've got some really good

quality players in our team that we believe can go and cause Dundee some real problems as well.

I've got a lot of time and respect for Tony, but I’m sure he'll understand that my focus is here on Dundee United. I tend not to try and concern myself with what's happening at other clubs. We all build up good working relationships, but ultimately, at the end of the day, we're on the other side when it comes to kick-off.  It's about winning. 

ON MOVING THREE POINTS CLOSER TO THE TOP SIX 

On average over the last ten years, 43 points has been enough to get you into the top six. Dundee a couple of seasons ago managed to get in with 39, but we believe it's going to be a little bit more than 43 this time around. The target that we set for ourselves before the ball was kicked was 45. We're four points off of that just now, with four games to go before the split.

We're bang on track to achieve that target. 

ON THE GRAVITAS OF THE FIXTURE TAKING FOCUS AWAY FROM THE TABLE

In the team meetings that we have, we don't spend too much time talking about top six or Europe. We understand the excitement around the supporters and that things are mentioned within the media, but we just try and stay focused on the target that we set at the start of the season. 

As the league campaign goes on, people get greedy. I'm pretty sure if you ask most Dundee United supporters at the beginning of the season what would be an acceptable finish for us in the league, most of them probably would have said staying in the Premiership and consolidating and building on it. 

It's just human nature! Instead of top six, now people are talking about Europe, but we just stay focused on the job at hand. The players are working extremely hard week to week. All that discipline, hard work and commitment is going to be required on Sunday if we are to get the result that we need.

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