Scott McMann has lauded Dundee United’s travelling support for creating a home away from home for the Tangerines.
The Terrors have sparkled on the road in the Championship this term, seeing off Arbroath 4-0 in front of more than 3,000 buoyant Arabs at Gayfield before hammering Ayr United 3-0 at Somerset Park.
Indeed, those thrills are yet to be replicated at Tannadice, where they drew 1-1 against Morton last time out.
And McMann is determined to put on another show when United face the manager-less Caley Jags in the Highlands; a journey always lapped up by the Tangerine Army.
“We have been really good away from home and we are confident of getting a win,” said McMann.
“The fans who have traveled have been brilliant and have made these tough away games feel like home games.
“They turn out in their numbers for every away game — I’m sure that’ll be no different on Saturday — and we’ll look to get the three points for them.”
In light of the dismissal of Billy Dodds this week, McMann added: “You don’t know what they are going to do. Are they going to rip it up and do something completely different or stick with what they have been doing?
“You can’t tell until the day.
“So, we can only focus on our game-plan until the weekend and see how it goes. We are in a really good place right now and expect to get a result.”
Opportunity knocks
United will be without Mathew Cudjoe after the red card shown to the winger against Morton was upheld by a disciplinary panel on Wednesday morning, potentially offering an opportunity for Kai Fotheringham to start.
Archie Meekison has also been name-checked by boss Jim Goodwin as an option.
And McMann is adamant United will be “no weaker” in Inverness.
“We’ll be without Mathew for the next two games but we need to see that as an opportunity for someone else to come in and do well,” said McMann. “Whoever comes in, I’m sure, will take their chance and do well.
“Every time Kai (Fotheringham) has played, he has been excellent for us. So, if it is him who gets a chance to start, then I’m sure he’ll step up and do brilliantly.
“Whatever changes we make, it certainly won’t make the team any weaker and we’ll have a team that can score goals.”
Bouncing back
While McMann has plenty of faith in United’s attackers, he is similarly certain “amazing” duo Declan Gallagher and goalkeeper Jack Walton will bounce back from the mix-up that allowed Robbie Muirhead to secure a point for Morton last weekend.
“These things can happen — you are going to get one of those at some point through the year,” added McMann. “The boys involved (Gallagher and Walton) have been amazing for us this season.
“So, you just move on and hope it doesn’t happen again. Everyone makes mistakes and it’s about how you bounce back.
“We have been defending really well as a team, from back to front —one to 11 — and hopefully that’s something we can get back to this weekend.”
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