Jim Goodwin will order his Dundee United players to get on the front foot and to come out of the blocks flying at Kilmarnock.
United have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premiership to Rangers and in the Premier Sports Cup at Motherwell. Goodwin’s side had been in good form up to that point but knows that slow starts have been costly and that is something he wants rectified. The United boss acknowledged: “We haven’t scored enough first-half goals this season.
“Maybe we do need to come quicker out of the blocks and start on the front-foot a bit more. It hasn’t been by design, it’s sometimes just the way things have panned out. In this league it can take time for games to settle down. In the last few games you have seen us be much stronger in the second half than the first. Although against Motherwell I felt we were controlling it in the first half in terms of possession, although they were dangerous on the counter attack. I do think we need to start on the front-foot more because the first goal in this league is so important.
“It brings confidence and gives you such a big foothold in the game. So, of course, we’d like more first half goals than we’ve scored – and hopefully that’s what we’ll be able to do at Kilmarnock on Saturday.”
Nigeria winger Meshack Ubochioma is now getting up to speed and Goodwin is looking for him to really kick on. He confirmed: “Meshack is getting there, he’s been very patient waiting to get his opportunity.
“He came on against Motherwell and got some minutes. I felt he did well and he will bring plenty to the team when he does play.
“He’s a very positive wide player, who prefers to play off the right and cut in on his left foot. He’s got very good quality, he’s direct and likes to get defenders into one-v-ones. Meshack can score goals as well as create them. He’s an exciting player but he’s had to be patient at the moment.”
Fellow winger Glenn Middleton has also found himself on the fringes but came on and made his mark at Motherwell. Goodwin added: “Glenn has been similar, I thought he was excellent when he came on at Fir Park.
“He was very positive and gave us a real attacking threat with his deliveries into the box. He was good in his one-v-ones with defenders and played a key role in helping us get the equaliser.
“Glenn had a great season for us last season but Kristijan Trapanovski has started so well. But the players who are in the team know they have to keep performing because we have people like Glenn and Meshack pushing them, ready to come in. We have been pretty consistent with the selection over the last few weeks but we have healthy competition within the group.”