Jort van der Sande admits he is “desperate” to break his Dundee United goal duck – but will continue to prioritise collective success over personal glory.
The 28-year-old is yet to ripple the net for the Tangerines in 23 appearances this term, albeit 14 of those have been from the substitutes bench.
Van der Sande’s efforts have not gone unappreciated by boss Jim Goodwin or his teammates, with the Bonaire internationalist often fulfilling a thankless task of pressing, battling for 50/50 balls and linking up with midfielders.
Nevertheless, the former ADO Den Haag man is acutely aware that many onlookers will pass judgement on the “zero” in his goals scored column – and he revealed that fellow United players are roaring him on every time he steps on the pitch.
“When I am up there (in attack), I work as hard as I can, and I want to have an impact for the team,” said van der Sande. “If I do that, then I am satisfied.
“I am really desperate for a goal – and I think that feeling is living in the dressing room. When I am coming on, everyone is saying, “take a shot, today it will happen!”
“But it is important to not let it get into your mind. You need to play as freely as possible and not worry about the goal – and hopefully it will come.
“I have friends in the game I speak to for advice, and it is a topic that comes up, but sometimes you just need to have a laugh about it. Things like this can happen – strikers can have periods without goals – and it can be a challenge.
“I think I am dealing with it well. I’m not being negative about it.”
He added: “I just want Dundee United to win matches. If I’m the one scoring, that is perfect. If the goals come from someone else, then it’s just as important.”
Positive thinking
Celtic Park would be a hell of a stage on which to bag his maiden goal.
The runaway league leaders are firm favourites to see off the challenge of the weary Terrors, who slipped to a meek 1-0 defeat to Hearts on Sunday afternoon.
Van der Sande is acutely aware of the mountainous challenge that lies ahead, even if he may not know the full extent of United’s miserable record in Glasgow’s east end – last winning there in 1992 (48 visits ago).
However, he is not ready to throw in the towel without a fight.
“When you go to Celtic Park, you know it’s going to be a difficult match,” he continued. “It’s a game where you are not likely to get points – but we can take a lot of confidence from how we played here (Tannadice) against them, getting a 0-0 draw.
“There’s no reason to go there with another attitude.
“Every team, other than maybe Rangers, goes to Celtic Park with the idea of being defensively at their best. And if we are really good defensively, and create chances on the break, then there is no reason why we cannot think about getting at least a point.”
No travel sickness for United
That positivity will be essential during an onerous run of fixtures.
The trip to Parkhead is the first of five away games in their next six outings. The sole home match is against Rangers.
However, van der Sande is adamant United – boasting the second-best away record in the Premiership after Celtic – have nothing to fear from life on the road.
He added: “That away record is important. We are not one of those teams that can only win home matches. We are just as strong in away games as we are at Tannadice.
“So, we don’t look at this run with any fear, saying, “oh no, it’s all away games”. It is not a big thing.”
Conversation