Jim Goodwin insists there’s no way Dundee United can blow the Championship title – regardless of how hard they party over the weekend.
The Tannadice gaffer gave the green light for the festivities to begin following a hard-fought 1-0 win against Ayr United.
The victory sees them move six points clear of Raith Rovers with two games left, and a superior goal difference of +36. While not arithmetically secured, it IS job done for Goodwin’s charges.
Just 328 days after succumbing to relegation at Fir Park, United effectively sealed their return to the Premiership.
“Of course, it’s not mathematically impossible (to be caught) – and people will still say we need to wait a little while before we can be crowned as champions,” said Goodwin.
“But given how good we’ve been defensively; I don’t see us losing that number of goals in the next couple of games…regardless of how hard we party over the next few days.”
Goodwin salutes the supporters
Delirious Arabs spilled on to the turf (below) to toast the triumph at the full-time whistle.
With an attendance of 10,025 at Tannadice – and a modest following from Ayrshire – this was the biggest gathering of home fans of the season. And they eventually got something to shout about, with Chris Mochrie’s late winner.
“We can relax now over the next couple of weeks, enjoy our training and look forward to the celebrations we’re going to have after the Partick game with our supporters,” continued Goodwin.
“I give a special thanks to the supporters who stuck with us through the course of it. We had a bit of a blip at the beginning of the third quarter, but we came through that, and we’ve been on a great run.”
Goodwin credits Fife challengers
Goodwin also reserved praise for the “brilliant” job done by Ian Murray at Raith Rovers, who have been credible title challengers all season.
Indeed, he reckons the Tangerines have emerged from one of the toughest second tiers in recent years.
“It’s been very competitive, and I think the league is as strong as it has been for a number of years,” continued Goodwin. “The opposition around us deserve a lot of credit.
“I don’t think it’s any surprise to see Partick Thistle up there competing at the top end of the table again. At, Raith Rovers Ian Murray has done a brilliant job.
“They made it an enjoyable, competitive league to be a part of and pushed us all the way.”
He added: “There’s one thing being everyone’s favourites at the start of the season and people expecting you to go and win the league at a canter, but we’ve always respected the opposition.”
Premiership priorities
And, while determined to enjoy United’s promotion party, Goodwin’s attention will soon turn to the impending top-flight challenge – and his desire to ensure the Tangerines are immediately competitive.
He added: “I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t been working on things behind the scenes. We’ve remained quietly optimistic, and we’ve had to plan for the future.
“We built the squad in the summer to make us capable of getting out this Championship. The boys have done that and deserve credit but next season’s a completely different kettle of fish.
“It’s a step up in quality and class and we have to make sure we recruit well in the summer to make us competitive in the league above; not fighting and scrapping down the bottom of the table.
“Making us really competitive to push on and compete for the top-half positions; that’s what we aim to do.”
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