Jim Goodwin his Dundee United players to prepare for his drop zone if they don’t hit the heights in their relegation fight.
The Tannadice boss left skipper Ryan Edwards out of his line-up that banked a point at Livingston to leave them three adrift in bottom spot. And the Irishman insists no player should take anything for granted in the weeks ahead with his captain an example of having to earn the right to a place in his side. Goodwin said: “Ryan is the club captain and he showed a really good reaction to coming out of the team.
"I told him on Tuesday morning and he trained really well after that. His reaction was positive. He’s a very honest big fella. He understands that his own performances individually haven’t quite been where they need to be at. It’s really important for me that the group knows it doesn’t matter whether you’re one of the most experienced players in the team, the captain, or one of the younger ones. If the performances are not at the level required then you risk having to come out of the team.”
Loick Ayina deputised for Edwards at the heart of United’s defence at Livi and Goodwin praised the on-loan Huddersfield teenager for his assured display. He said: “Ryan’s reaction was excellent.
“He was encouraging the boys before the game and will be an important player for us between now and the end of the season. Sometimes players need to come out of the team just to hit the reset button to go again.
"I was very pleased with Loick coming in, He was excellent – very assured. For a young centre-half he played with a lot of maturity, which was great to see.”
United were also without the influential Dylan Levitt against Livi and Goodwin admits the midfielder faces a wait to see how long he’ll be sidelined.
He said: “Unfortunately Dylan picked up a knock last weekend, he tweaked his knee, so that kept him out. We’ll have to assess that over the next 10 days and see how it is.”
United keeper Mark Birighitti admits he’s bounced back from a recent blunder by learning to blank out all that social media’s trolls throw at him.
The Aussie gifted a late winner to St Johnstone’s Stevie May with a goalline gaffe last month. And Birighitti said: “It’s tough, people vent their frustration and have their opinions but I don’t read that stuff and let it get me down.
"People have an opinion but it means nothing to me. I’ve learned to be that way because back in the day I was big on social media and loved reading the comments, what people had to say.
“But the more mature you get – and I have been around different leagues the last five or 10 years – I know how to handle it.”
