It's nearly a fortnight since we last played but it went rather well. We fully deserved our win over Kilmarnock as we finally ended our long wait for a win and the three points lifted us up a few places in the process. However, tomorrow is a rather different prospect and the start of a run of five games against sides in the top six ahead of the split. Thanks for that, fixture computer!
Earlier in the season Tannadice was as hard a place to go as Parkhead. United were scoring goals for fun and rattled four past us. That was part of a terrific run of form where losing by four or five was no shame as they were doing that against everyone. Their form dipped after we gave them a doing on Boxing Day but it seems to have picked up again now and it's a challenging place to go once again – especially after their gubbing of Caley Thistle on Sunday. Incredibly, our 4-0 defeat at Tannadice in October was the first time we'd lost there under Danny Lennon, an impressive record considering the opponents.
United's top six place is pretty much assured and they are still dreaming of Europe, while we are battling to avoid the relegation play-off. This will be an extremely testing game for us and taking something from it would be an achievement. We're in real need of points at the moment and anything we can take out of these difficult games could be crucial. We'll need to be switched on and in United's faces like we were on Boxing Day if we're to pick up anything tomorrow.
Gregg Wylde will almost certainly be back in the team tomorrow after his terrific display against Kilmarnock. It's a while since I've seen a sub in any game, let alone one of our subs, have such a devastatingly positive effect on a match and it would be a huge surprise if he wasn't rewarded with a starting slot. Who he replaces is the difficult one - John McGinn is a key man while Josh Magennis was decent against Killie and Conor Newton scored. That leaves Paul McGowan and Kenny McLean, but they were solid against Kilmarnock too.
We'll still be without Jim Goodwin tomorrow and hopefully Eric Djemba-Djemba will remain benched. We coped just fine when he was dropped and there is no reason to bring him back into the team as he has offered little in the games in which he has featured so far. Aside from Wylde coming into the team there's little else likely to be changed - Adam Campbell will remain benched while David van Zanten and the mysterious figure of Stephane Bahoken are still injured. Gary Teale isn't fit but may make the bench
The media were drooling over United earlier in the season as their youngsters ripped teams apart at ease. The downturn in form around the turn of the year seems to have dented their European hopes but they still have a chance of making it into the top three. Even if they don't, United fans seem happy enough watching Jackie McNamara develop a team of kids playing exciting football, even if that means they hit the odd bump in the road along the way - such as losing to St Johnstone on Wednesday. Finishing in the top six is a certainty and something I didn't think they'd manage considering their summer recruitments, which shows what I know.
You'd need to have been living under a rock in the past few months not to know who their talented young kids are. Some are a bit older than others and have been in the team for a few years, but in the past 12 months Ryan Gauld and John Souttar have really began to make their mark. Gauld has been terrific and possesses creativity rarely seen in Scotland. He is an exciting talent with his dribbling, passing and shooting and a big future awaits. Souttar has been fairly solid at the back, while summer recruit Andrew Robertson from Queen's Park has been outstanding at leftback. The three will go far in the game and that can only be good news for the Scotland team, Robertson making his full debut last week. They are all under contract so hopefully they'll be allowed to progress in United's first team rather than sitting in the reserves somewhere down south.
One of the slightly older home grown players to be doing well is Stuart Armstrong. The presence of Gauld has probably helped him out a bit but the attacking midfielder has been terrific, rattling in eight goals and occasionally forcing himself into the Scotland picture. He too will probably move down south at some point and he looks a terrific talent. Gary Mackay-Steven doesn't seem to have been as noticed as much this season due to the likes of Armstrong and Gauld but is still a danger and hard for defences to shackle. Paul Paton and John Rankin let the more attack minded players express themselves and the form of the midfielders means Morgaro Gomis has barely kicked a ball since he returned.
Mark Wilson has played a bit more since he came back in the summer after stints with Celtic and Bristol City, but for the most part it's been Keith Watson that's played. He seems to be a fairly good rightback but was sent off against us for flattening Sean Kelly at the end of last year. Gavin Gunning looks fairly solid at the back, while Calum Butcher is a tad aggressive at times. Sean Dillon helps provide some much needed experience, while Curtis Good has gone back to Newcastle due to injury.. Radoslaw Cierzniak has been United's goalie for the past few years and looks fairly reliable, although he made a wee error during the week.
During January McNamara brought in Farid El Alagui from Brentford. He'd scored a shedload of goals while at Falkirk a few years ago and should prove to be a terrific signing. He should be more effective than David Goodwillie, who was sent back to Blackburn in January after only showing glimpses of the form he displayed during his first spell at Tannadice. Far more useful has been Nadir Ciftci, who McNamara picked up on the striker after he'd spent the last few years moving from club to club. He's now on a longer term contract after managing 12 goals so far this season. Brian Graham has looked handy at times and is now fit again, while youngster Ryan Dow has only been used on occasion.
NOTE: I won't be about tomorrow evening to update the site so no details of the game will be posted until Saturday night or Sunday morning, regardless of the result!
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