Dundee United face a crucial time in the season and do so with no fear.
Such has been their return to top-flight football, United face a vital seven match spell to finish off 2024 with real confidence.
There are a couple of matches against the Old Firm, including the next match against Rangers, but the Tangerines have the opportunity to build on their superb start.
In the next few weeks they face St Mirren and Kilmarnock at home and head to Motherwell and St Johnstone before finishing off the year with a home clash against Aberdeen.
Those sides are enjoying differing seasons but there’s one thing that links them all – United in this form will see these games as winnable.
No fear
Confidence is high at Tannadice and rightly so.
United should fear nobody this season.
Their excellent start to the campaign has built up a nice cushion.
That takes the edge off the pressure, they can go play with more freedom without worrying about every point dropped.
The difference between going for a risky throughball or keeping safe possession can be a huge one in the context of a 90 minute Premiership match.
If they can go into the new year in a similar position to the one held now, what a start to the season that would be for newly-promoted United.
Confidence
A huge plus for Jim Goodwin is the players returning from injury.
Yes, he’ll have to decisions to make on who gets back in but a manager always wants a selection headache.
This is also the point of the season where injuries begin to bite, matches pile up and squads can suffer.
The Tangerines have already had a bit of that in recent weeks but navigated the situation pretty well.
Again, that breeds confidence across the entire squad.
Dalby
It always helps to have a striker in form, too.
Sam Dalby has really grown into his position at Dundee United this season.
The goals are flowing for the Wrexham loanee and he’s made himself a huge player for United.
As a defender, he looks like a really tough forward to stop right now.
Big, athletic, with technique and a willingness to run – there is a lot to get to grips with for any defender.
Even if he’s not scoring, there’s a presence up front that can cause a bit of havoc and open up space for others.
Rangers
United will need that this weekend when they head to Ibrox.
The past few seasons have seen these matches against the Old Firm pretty much written off by everyone. A result is a bonus.
This Rangers side, though, has shown this season that it is vulnerable.
So much that only three points separate these two sides when they face off against each other on Saturday.
Nobody expects anything but a home win this weekend.
United, though, might fancy upsetting the odds.
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