Dundee United’s recent results speak for themselves.
The Tangerines’ fine 2-1 victory over in-form Motherwell was the first time they have registered successive league wins since January 2.
More pertinently, it lifted them out of the Premiership drop-zone.
The job is far from done, but a burgeoning sense of momentum is tangible under Jim Goodwin.
United have tightened up defensively, Steven Fletcher is no longer isolated in attack. Midfielders are pushing forward and crosses are being whipped into the box with abandon.
However, arguably the biggest change in United’s style has been visible in their commited, aggressive pressing, as Courier Sport finds.
A Pressing matter
The Tangerines are hunting in packs, closing down their opponents and seeking to force errors. While there is always a risk of being cut through by better teams, it is paying dividends.
And the tireless work ethic and visible desire is swiftly winning over fans.
United’s fitness — dubbed not good enough prior to Goodwin’s arrival — is visible. They are putting in the hard yards until the last ball is kicked.
In matches against Aberdeen, Livingston, Rangers and Hibernian, United racked up 145, 183, 202 and 162 pressures (defined by StatsBomb as the number of times a player pressures an opposition player), respectively.
The graph above shows pressures over a six-game rolling average (the amount of matches Goodwin has been in charge), with the blue vertical lines indicating a change of manager, firstly from Jack Ross to Liam Fox, then from Fox to Goodwin.
Aggressive actions (defined as tackles, pressure events and fouls recorded within two seconds of an opposition ball receipt) also reached a season high of 128 in the 2-0 defeat at Rangers.
Using the same six-game rolling average, another upturn is evident (below).
Sibbald impact
Unsurprisingly, Craig Sibbald stands out. He averages 18.44 pressure per game.
He also boasts an average of 5.18 “tackles and interceptions” per match — in the 89th percentile of Premiership midfielders.
An overview of Sibbald’s statistics over a number of key combative metrics is pictured below.
If the former Livingston and Falkirk man does not walk away with at least one gong at the United player of the year awards, it’ll be a mighty surprise.
Possession
Of course, the more of the ball United have, the less they need to press, counter-press, and tackle.
That was illustrated by the fact they registered 130 pressures in their 2-1 victory at Motherwell — a good tally, but below the average of the Goodwin reign.
That is indicative of the Terrors having 54% possession.
Nevertheless, the knowledge that — should they surrender possession — United will harass and harry their opponents should buoy Arabs.
And it suggests that Goodwin’s men will be on the front-foot this weekend as they pursue a third successive league win; a feat they have not achieved since October 2021.
Conversation