Dundee United manager Csaba Laszlo believes victory over in-form Livingston will show that the Tangerines have not given up on the title.
A glance at the Championship league table makes grim reading for United fans, with the third-placed Tannadice men trailing leaders St Mirren by 14 points and second-placed Livi by three.
That does not tell the whole story, however, for they have three games in hand over the Buddies and have played two matches fewer than the West Lothian side.
Speaking ahead of Friday’s night’s trip to the Tony Macaroni Arena, Laszlo argued the case for the flag race not yet being done and dusted.
Livi’s eye-catching 4-1 win over Saints on Saturday, while United didn’t play, gave power to that argument.
Now, should the Tangerines bring the three points back from Almondvale, they would set themselves up nicely for the congested fixture list to follow.
It is certainly the case that Laszlo believes the promotion picture will be clearer after United have played Livi, hosted Queen of the South next Tuesday then faced the Paisley men at Tannadice the following Friday.
He said: “If people think the league is gone, let them – I’ll just concentrate on us.
“I am realistic and for us to win 14 games in a row is a big thing to ask. If we won 14 then we would win the league but that might not happen.
“Other teams will drop points – I am sure of that – and if this happens then we can make the most of it.
“We know we have three massive games coming up now. If we can take the nine points from these games then after that we can see how the league table is looking.”
