AZIZ BEHICH has clocked up the miles for his country. Now he will go the extra yard for his club.
The Australian returned to Scotland in the hours before the trip to Ibrox on Saturday after turning out in two international friendlies against Ecuador.
The first saw Behich play the full 90 minutes in a 3-1 win. The second was a 2-1 defeat as he got another 54 minutes under his belt for the Socceroos.
He was given an early finish by boss Jim Goodwin at the weekend and replaced by Mathew Cudjoe for the closing stages of the Premiership fixture.
A 2-0 reverse at Ibrox leaves United still stranded at the foot of the standings ahead of their clashes with Hibernian, Motherwell and Livingston before the split.
Behich said: "No player wants a relegation on their CV. I’ve been in relegation battles before and come out on top.
"We are a tight-knit group in this dressing room and I am very positive we’ll get out of this position.
"A dressing room can go one way or the other - and with this bunch of boys, I can only see it going one way.
"It’s been a long year for myself - non-stop - and I only got back into Scotland 24 hours before the Rangers game.
"It was my third game in 10 days, travelling for about 60 hours. But I’m doing what I can to help the team and I’ll always put the team first. There’s not long left and you’ve just got to grind it out.
"I’ve been around long enough to deal with this. When it’s international football, you focus on that and when it’s back to club football, I know the situation we are in.
"I’m one of the most experienced players here and, with a lot of young players, you try to help them through the situation.
"I felt alright until towards the end. For us Australian internationals, it’s not easy with the travel.
"Towards the end, there was a bit of fatigue and the gaffer said not to take any chances, with the big games coming up. It was just a precaution."
