Paul Dixon insists Dundee United shouldn’t be written off ahead of their Celtic triple-header.
The Tangerines face the Hoops at home in a Scottish Cup quarter-final on Sunday before the League Cup final a week later and then a Premiership trip to Parkhead on March 21.
For a side that struggled so badly against Partick Thistle on Saturday, that could be a fixture schedule to give management, players and fans sleepless nights.
However, Dixon believes they can still dig out a surprise or two.
“Playing Celtic on Sunday is maybe the best thing for us,” said the left-back. “The focus is going to be on them so we can just work hard and get ready for it.
“You have seen it before I have been involved in it myself in the past when a team have been on a poor run but manage to raise their game again for Celtic. I don’t know why it happens but it does.
“It’s a Scottish Cup quarter-final so there’s no need for extra motivation. Everyone will be up for it because it’s a chance to take a step closer to silverware.”
Dixon added: “It’s odd having three games in a row against the same team and obviously when that’s against Celtic it’s as difficult as it comes.
“If we can get a result on Sunday it would set us up nicely for the other ones.
“The way we have to look at it is that the season starts again this weekend.
“We’ve had a wee blip and that happens sometimes in your season. Other teams have been through it and come out the other side and so will we.
“This team is full of talented players. I saw that the first day I trained with them after coming back.
“Right now it’s about grinding out a win any way we can, even if that means winning ugly.”
The Tannadice playing surface isn’t exactly helping United produce free-flowing football but Dixon played down its impact on their performance level.
“The pitch isn’t the best for playing football on but it’s the same for both teams,” added Dixon.
“Hard work is what will get us out of this that’s what you have to do. Last week we produced two bad performances and one good one.
“The manager said to us after the game on Saturday that he doesn’t understand how we can go from Inverness on Tuesday to the performance against Partick.
“That’s something we have to figure out as a group of players and make sure it doesn’t happen again.
“It shows inconsistency and it has to be stamped out. I know the team is full of young boys but as a team we have to get together, work hard and get a win on the board.”