Honest Ryan Edwards admits he agrees that Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin made the right call to drop him from the starting line-up - as he opened up on the social media storm around him after defeat to Aberdeen.
The Tannadice captain struggled during the 3-1 defeat to the Dons and made costly mistakes with United facing the prospect of relegation from the Scottish Premiership, leading to Goodwin taking a hardline stance and dropping Edwards for the clash with Livingston. But Goodwin had no hesitation recalling the 6ft 5in stopper with Charlie Mulgrew injured against St Mirren and helped claim a valuable point with an impressive second half display.
Now the 29-year-old has backed the boss after he got tough with the centre-back, and admitted he couldn't argue with Goodwin during the Aberdeen post-match debrief. He told The Courier: “I had an honest conversation with the manager after what happened with Aberdeen. I said to him I respected his decision to leave me out against Livingston.
“There were no complaints after my second half performance at Aberdeen. I’d love to have stood up to him, looked him in the eye and had an argument about it.
“I’d love to have questioned why he was leaving me out. But because of the way things went, I held my hands up and agreed with it. I respect his decision."
Following the defeat to Aberdeen, Edwards has revealed he was targeted by social media trolls after his error-strewn display. However, he admitted it's hard to ignore when fans are messaging him privately.
Edwards went on: “You can try to block social media out. That’s fine. But when you get private messages you can’t hide away from them.
“When your own fans are sending you direct messages telling you that you shouldn’t play for the club again what can you do? I got a load of messages from fans.
"It’s not unique to me and I’m sure a lot of our players have over the course of the season. But after the Aberdeen match it was my turn to get it.
“I accept it’s part of the game. If you can’t take it then you shouldn’t be playing it. You feel like picking the phone up and getting back to people but you can’t.
“That’s the way the game is now. You can’t hide from that side of it. I’m an experienced player and I can handle it. I’m at a big club and have to take it on the chin, while continuing to believe in myself.”
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