The players are united behind Dundee United boss Peter Houston as he prepares for today’s crunch clash against Dunfermline.
That is the message from midfielder John Rankin, who left little doubt that Houston will have the full backing of his men for his East End Park test.
This week has seen pressure pile up on Houston, with club chairman Stephen Thompson cutting short his holiday in Florida by a few days to meet him.
The exit from the Scottish Communities League Cup at the hands of Falkirk on Tuesday night was followed by reports that Houston was facing the sack.
He will take charge of the team today, though, and victory would surely push him into the safety zone ahead of talks with Thompson, which are scheduled to take place on Sunday.
The Tannadice players are certainly determined to get Houston that win.
”The dressing-room is totally behind the manager, with everyone working in the same direction,” said Rankin. ”We are a million percent behind the gaffer and the spirit among the whole squad is incredible.
”Obviously we saw what was in the papers but every game brings pressure, so this one won’t be any different. We are putting pressure on ourselves because we want to do better than we are.
”We just want to get a win so we can go four points ahead of Dunfermline. It is time for everyone to step up to the plate and I am sure we will do that.
”This is not a dressing-room that is going to hide from anything. Instead, we will step up to the challenge and go for it.”
With the season not even out of October, Rankin argued United and their manager should not be written off.
”It is very early in the season and if we win this game we can go up to sixth place,” he added. ”Of course, we want to be higher up the league table but a few wins and we are right up there again.
”I don’t understand why anyone would want to panic and there is certainly no panicking going on among the manager or players.
”Hopefully, everyone will be looking at things from a very different angle come 5pm. If we can beat Dunfermline, which won’t be easy, then we will be looking towards the top end of the table rather than the bottom.”
Rankin was given his break at Tannadice by Houston following an unhappy time at Hibs so is keen to pay him back for the faith he showed in him.
”The gaffer has been great for me,” he said. ”He gave me the chance to come here after things didn’t work out last season and I am glad to be here. We have played some good stuff this season and maybe not had the rewards for it.
”Fair enough, we had a couple of bad games where individual errors cost us and we lost too many goals. But we have addressed that problem.”
Houston was focusing fully on preparing for the game and expressed satisfaction with the reaction of his team to that loss to Falkirk.
”The players have been in great spirits, first and foremost,” he said. ”They were very disappointed to lose the cup tie, as we all were at United.
” I will reiterate that we could not have put any more into the game. What we could have done better is take our chances instead of missing the target.
”We are not yet getting rub of the green on the park just now but that can change. You expect things to turn but you have to work hard to make that happen.
”Against Dunfermline, we have to show the same level of desire and commitment that we showed the other night, while also taking the opportunities that come our way.
”I will tell the players not to feel sorry for themselves because we got knocked out of the cup. We must use it as a spur to go on and win.”
United have one or two unnamed players carrying knocks, while defender Sean Dillon will have to sit it out again.
Houston said: ”He is running pain-free but he has been out for eight weeks so this game will come too soon for him. I think it is a certainty that he will be back the following week though.”