Injured skipper Sean Dillon is backing his Dundee United team-mates to do him and them a massive favour by clinching second spot in the Championship over the final three games of the regular season.
For the defender, it would mean an extra 10 days to recover from the damaged ankle ligaments that have forced him out of the last seven games before the promotion play-offs kick-off.
And, for the team as a whole, it would mean two fewer matches on the route back to the Premiership after just a single season away.
Taking his own situation first, while the Tangerines’ focus this weekend is the home clash with St Mirren, his aim is to be back running for the first time since he got injured down at the Buddies in the middle of last month.
If he can, it will mark the first ray of light in an otherwise frustrating few weeks.
“I certainly hope to be running in the next couple of days,” said Dillon.
“There’s been a delay with it, though, when I say that, it’s probably because I was being more hopeful than realistic about how quickly I could get back.
“I was being overly positive, thinking I could be running again in two or three weeks and, to be fair to Geoff our physio, he said it would be four to six weeks before I was at that stage.
“After a month we did try a little bit of light stuff which didn’t go to plan and wasn’t as good as we were hoping.
“It’s now five weeks, we’ve looked at it again and had an X-ray to make sure there’s nothing we missed.
“I’ve also had an injection to settle it down and that should happen in a couple of days.
“So I could be running by Sunday and that will be a big step, but I’m not setting a specific target for playing any more.
“I’ve been aiming for this game or that and it hasn’t happened, so I’m just seeing how I feel every day.
“But, if the boys can clinch second, it would be ideal. That would give me another 10 days before our first play-off and I’m pretty sure I would be ready for that.”
Having been watching from the sidelines, he sees no reason why that won’t happen.
Wins over St Mirren, Dumbarton and then Morton are not, he feels, beyond United.
“I am sure the boys can get second. Last weekend at Ayr was a big opportunity. Having the late kick-off and seeing the other results go our way, it was a big disappointment not to make the most of it.
“I think everybody felt the same and, if we’d taken our chances, we would have been second already.
“There are positives to take from the fact we’ve gone three games without defeat and we are slowly building towards the end of the season, the business end if you like.”
Dillon believes the key to winning the final three games of the league card and continuing that form in the post-season shoot-out lies in converting more chances.
“We’ve won one and drawn two in the last three but, with the opportunities the boys have had, it could easily have been three wins.
“We definitely had enough chances to beat Ayr down there last week and, when Falkirk drew at Tannadice, the game could have been won by the time they equalised.
“Even when we beat Dunfermline here, it could have been by more.
“But so long as we keep creating, the goals will come.”
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