Dundee United’s Dutch defender Timothy van der Meulen is determined not to let the beautiful Highland scenery distract his attention from helping his new club secure a top-six finish as he travels north to face Inverness.
“It would be nice to get ahead in a game and let the opposition chase us. We have been telling the lads how important scoring the first goal is. We have a hard week but every game in this league is difficult.
“Inverness are a good side. They gave us a doing at Tannadice earlier in the season when we just didn’t turn up. So we know how difficult it’s going to be and the lads are desperate to do well.”
United will be missing the injured Scott Severin, Darren Dods, Garry Kenneth, Mihael Kovacevic and captain Jon Daly. However, Kirk revealed there is encouraging news about the club skipper who is recovering quicker than expected after hernia surgery.
“Jon has started running again and could be back in a couple of weeks,” he said. “That would be well ahead of schedule but we’ll have to wait and see how he gets on.”
Inverness have no fresh concerns for tonight’s clash, with Jonny Hayes again set to miss out. Hayes has missed the last two matches with a foot injury and is set to be absent once more at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, but Nick Ross, who came off the bench in Saturday’s 2-0 loss at Hibs, and Gareth Morrison, who was an unused substitute, are poised to be part of the squad.
Caley boss Butcher said, “It’s great the game’s come around so quickly-we haven’t got time to harp on about the Easter Road defeat, we’re now looking at victory on Tuesday. It was very disappointing on Saturday considering that we’ve been in the top six for about six months.
“It’s one we have to forget we’ll heed the lessons, but the most important thing now is what we do on Tuesday.”
The former Ajax man will be putting the sightseeing on hold to concentrate fully on picking up a vital victory. United currently sit in seventh place in the SPL table, two points behind Terry Butcher’s side, albeit with three games in hand.
They have drawn their last two matches against Hamilton and St Johnstone and are determined to go one better in their fourth away fixture on the bounce.
“I have heard about the Highlands and that they are very beautiful,” said Van der Meulen. “The boys tell me we will go through the mountains on our way there and the scenery will be amazing.
“But it is not a sightseeing trip, I can do that at the end of the season. We want to go up there and get three points to make it into the top six. We have drawn too many games.
“Inverness are above us in the league but we can go ahead of them if we win. I have heard they are a good team. Sean Dillon has been telling me they have a very good striker and his name is Adam Rooney.
“So I have been asking Sean what he’s like. He says he’s very big, quick and strong, so it will be a good test against him. I do not have a preference to play against a big striker or a smaller one if you want to play at the top, you have to adapt to every style.”
Van der Meulen endured a tough baptism when he played his first match in Scotland against Hearts a couple of weeks ago. And while he is now finding his feet and adapting to the game in this country, he admitted that he had come here thinking he would have a lot more time on the ball.
“I watched Scottish football on television and the game looks a lot slower than it actually is,” he said. “The games are much quicker than I expected. They are played at 100 miles an hour, which is different from in Holland. But I am enjoying it and I feel I am learning all the time.”
Like Van der Meulen, United assistant boss Gary Kirk stressed the importance of turning draws into victories. However, he acknowledged that his side will have their work cut out against a Caley team that won 4-0 at Tannadice back in August.
“We need to start winning games and take three points instead of just one,” he said. “I think we just need to get a wee bit of luck in front of goal. The boys are working hard enough and we are creating chances, but we’re not getting a rub of the green.