Jim Goodwin believes that as the Tangerines go closer to winning the Championship, Dundee United has responded to its critics.
The Tannadice team received criticism after a few poor performances in 2024, with losses to Dunfermline and Airdrieonians being especially embarrassing.
Goodwin has been the target of some irate Arabs on message boards and social media.
But in recent weeks, United have proven themselves, crushing Queen’s Park and Morton while travelling and outperforming title rivals Raith Rovers at home.
Due to their better goal differential, the Terrors will virtually guarantee promotion against Ayr United on Saturday if they replicate Rovers’ performance from Friday night at Inverness.
They are mathematically ahead if they beat the Fifers’ outcome.
Even many others did, Goodwin said he never questioned his players’ capacity to manage pressure during the final stretch.
“I’ve never questioned the group’s very good mentality,” Goodwin stated.
Many questions concerning the group and myself were made.
“Everyone may be criticised, and I believe that there was one really poor showing—the 3-1 loss away to Dunfermline. Beyond that, though, I thought we were playing passably and lacking sufficient clinicality.
“Everyone has stepped up and we’re getting what we started wrapped up, which has been the difference in the previous few weeks.
“I expected that because we brought in experienced players who knew the league and had been through the course before, but the way the players handled the pressure has been really encouraging.”
But Goodwin added pointedly: “I have been stressing that nothing is done yet, that’s been the message to the players. There’s still a job to do and we still need to get over the line. Nobody here is taking things for granted.
“We know what the prize is, we want to accumulate a good points total, and the players understand if we win our games then it’s done and dusted.”
A bumper crowd is likely for what could be a title party at Tannadice; a cathartic prospect following the misery of United’s relegation from the top-flight last term.
He added: “We are expecting a big turnout from our fans, like the crowd we got at home to Raith. The supporters have been brilliant. They’ve backed the team all season and we’ll be delighted to see them come out in numbers again.”
