Scott McMann insists there is no such thing as a free hit when Dundee United are fighting for their Premiership lives.
The Tangerines travel to Ibrox and very few people outside of Jim Goodwin’s away dressing room expect them to put points on the board on Saturday afternoon. United are in a perilous position, bottom of the league and three points from safety, and McMann knows that with nine games left now it is all about survival of the fittest.
That means going to Rangers looking for the win or in the worst-case scenario coming away with something. Defender McMann said: “It’s not a free hit for us going to Ibrox. We feel like we can get something from the game. We’ve performed well at the big stadiums, Ibrox and Parkhead, so we’re looking to turn that into a result on Saturday and we will be hoping we can. We can’t let opportunities pass us by. This is an opportunity to go and get a result against Rangers. We’re more than capable and looking to do that.”
United have drawn their last two games but McMann knows that it will be wins that will make all the difference. He added: “Everybody knows where we are. We know where we are and we know what we need to do to get out of it. We feel we have more than enough. It’s just about looking forward to the games and getting up the table.
“We all are surprised but it can happen because it’s a difficult league and for one reason or another it hasn’t gone our way so far. But there’s still plenty of time to put that right and get up the table.”
The 26-year-old has tasted Premiership relegation previously with Hamilton two years ago, before he moved to Tannadice. That was one of the low points of the full-back’s career and McMann is determined not to go through that pain and heartbreak again in tangerine and black. He said: “I went down with Hamilton in my last year I was five years in the Premier League and in the final year we ran out of steam. It was difficult because the club meant a lot to me.
“A lot can change very quickly in football and I got my move here. Hopefully I can put that right this year and keep us in the league.”
The good thing is that we can use that negative and turn it into a positive this time around. It’s a cliche but you have to take it one game at a time. You can’t get too ahead of yourself or panic too much.
“There’s a long way to go from now until the end of the season and a lot of points to be won. You just have to take it game by game and look forward to it.”
It has been a season that started so brightly for United with the highs of Europa Conference League football but the club has gone on to plumb the depths of despair. Jim Goodwin is now their third manager of the campaign as the Tannadice side look to try and remain in the top flight.
McMann knows Goodwin is likely to get the job on a permanent basis if he can pull United out of trouble. He added: “Potentially we have been a bit more solid and responded to the gaffer’s message, which has been good and clear. It comes down to a bit of intensity.
“It comes from training and that will benefit us if we can keep that up. We can all say we’ve enjoyed the four weeks with the gaffer. It has been difficult but we feel we’re benefiting from it. If we get out of it then I’m sure it would put him in a good position.”
United have a number of injury concerns for the trip to Ibrox with Liam Smith, Dylan Levitt and Glenn Middleton all set to miss out.
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