Jim Goodwin looks set to be given the chance to get Dundee United back into the Premiership at the first-time of asking.
United are bottom of the table and face certain relegation unless there is a last day miracle with United winning at Motherwell and Kilmarnock beating Ross County, with an eight goal swing also going the way of the Tannadice men. Goodwin has had a couple of meetings with American owner Mark Ogren this week and has told him where he thinks the club has gone wrong and what needs to be done to rebuild it.
The former St Mirren and Aberdeen boss, who is the third manager to be at the United helm this season, was brought in on a short-term contract to keep them up and although he looks set to fall short Ogren and the Tannadice hierarchy have been impressed and are likely to give him the green light to start the United rebuild.
Goodwin, who already has a list of signing targets, said: “All of those conversations will be had over the next 48 hours and we’ll see where we are after Sunday. I said when I took the job that I was going to plan and prepare like I was going to be the manager long-term.
“I wasn’t given any assurances the job was mine regardless but it would have been foolish of me not to be thinking along those lines. I wouldn’t like to go into too much depth about what the conversations were because it was a confidential meeting.
“But I was just frank and open with him in terms of what I think the mistakes have been made are. And the improvements I think need to be made in future in order for the club to bounce back.”
United are set to cut their budgets with a number of players, like captain Ryan Edwards and Ian Harkes set to leave at the end of their contracts. Goodwin also knows that there will be other contracted players who might want to play at a higher level.