Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Saturday's visit of Celtic in the League Cup. Here are the main points:
Goodwin feels his side are "a couple of points short of where we should be given the overall performance against Rangers in the opening fixture" but insists "there were certainly lots of positives to take from it". Although "we were feeling really good going into the game against Hearts" the United boss says "we couldn't have got off to a worse start with the opening goal after three or four minutes" as they were beaten 4-0 at Tynecastle last weekend. And while he knows "it's not ideal at this early stage of the season" to lose by such a big margin, he insists "I'm pretty confident that we'll get a positive reaction tomorrow". On midfielder Abdoulaye Yoro, who joined from Istanbul Basaksehir on loan, Goodwin admits "he's a little bit behind the rest of the group but he's in good shape, just needs that little bit of sharpness". And the new midfielder "will be a part of the squad tomorrow and will hopefully make his home debut". On transfers, Goodwin admits "in terms of incomings that will be pretty much us in terms of the business that we've done". And the manager is happy with the depth of his squad, adding "when everybody is fit and available we're probably going to have to leave one or two players in the stand, which is not something we've had the luxury of being able to do in the three years I've been here". The boss feels "we've done some brilliant work in the transfer window and I think we're in a really strong place going forward". On facing Celtic in the last 16 of the League Cup, Goodwin knows "it's one of the most difficult draws that you could get" but feels "it's a really good test for the players". Looking back on the 1-1 draw with Rangers in their first game of the season, Goodwin feels his side gave supporters "a lot to cheer about" and stresses "we have to make sure we do the same tomorrow night". But the United manager is confident, adding "we showed last year that if we get the game plan right, and the players perform to the level they're capable of, we can get a result."