Dundee United are seeking to seal top six football for the first time since 2015 and bolster their burgeoning European charge.
Dundee are scrapping for mere survival at the foot of the Premiership and know time is running out to mount a great escape.
Even by the ever-fraught measure of this famous old fixture, pressure will abound at a packed Tannadice on Saturday.
But Tangerines’ gaffer Tam Courts reckons that is a ‘privilege’ for his players.
“The key thing for us is: this is a positive pressure,” explained Courts.
“We have put ourselves in a position where we are sitting in fourth place, competing for the top six and with a chance to propel this club back to where we believe it belongs.
“That’s not a negative pressure. It is a great place to be and I just want us to handle our own business.
“Then we can refocus, reset our targets and hopefully have a strong end to the season. That’s a privileged position.”
‘The key is to send our fans home happy’
Indeed, Courts is loath to obsess about the race for a place in the top half of the table.
He reckons that issue is ‘secondary’ to claiming a victory against their fierce city foes.
United will be assured of top six football after the split if they avoid defeat against the Dee. As a point of reference, Dundee’s last win at Tannadice came in August 2004.
But Courts added: “We don’t need to worry about top six permutations — we need to win the game.
“It’s actually nice to go into game 33 with top six [qualification] as the secondary objective, because the key thing for us is to win the game and send our fans home happy.
“At this stage of the season, that simplifies things and gives us a clear focus.”
While not always champagne football at Tannadice — with 29 goals, United are the third-lowest scorers in the Premiership — top six football after the split would represent a successful maiden campaign for Courts.
And he has nothing but praise for the ‘resilience’ of his charges over the course of the season.
AMERICAN IAN HARKES CALLED GAME IN THE DUNDEE DERBY 🔥🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/beQLnfukhA
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 19, 2021
“We obviously had a really strong start and then a tricky middle period, through injuries and Covid — a couple of different challenges,” Courts continued.
“To see the team showing the resilience and character to re-emerge and be able to put themselves in a strong position, has been excellent. Outside Celtic, Rangers and Hearts, we are in the strongest position.”
Comeback trail
Courts, meanwhile, confirmed that Marc McNulty will be fit to face Dundee and offered an insight into the determination and enthusiasm sweeping through United’s St. Andrew’s training base.
“We’re looking really good,” added Courts. “Marc McNulty trained on Thursday.
“It’s always the same on derby week; players are desperate to make themselves available and desperate to get on the pitch.
“On my two previous experiences of the Dundee derby, Thursday is the day to feel a little bit of a shift in terms of the magnitude of the game and players looking to push to be in the starting eleven.
“I felt that energy. The squad is healthy, we have good availability and we are in a good place.”
Calum Butcher, who missed United’s 1-1 draw at Hibs last weekend, trained. Ian Harkes’ recovery from an ankle knock is continuing and Max Biamou will not be in contention for ‘another couple of weeks’ due to a thigh issue.
