Jim Goodwin tells Dundee United stars to use Ibrox to their 'advantage' as weight of Rangers expectation rises

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Many of Dundee United ’s squad will make their first visit to Ibrox this weekend – and manager Jim Goodwin insists they won’t be fazed.

From the United starting 11 who beat Ross County before the break only Declan Gallagher, Kevin Holt and Ryan Strain have previously played away at Rangers. Goodwin knows the pressure is on Philippe Clement ’s squad as they look to chase down Celtic and Aberdeen and that is something he hopes his own team can use to their advantage when they are on the south side of Glasgow.

The Tannadice gaffer said: “We’ve highlighted that during the week (the number of players that it will be their first time at Ibrox) and it’s a really good thing. It’s an exciting time for them to go to such an iconic stadium – 50,000-odd fans – and they’ve got to relish the experience. The players won’t be fazed at all. Sometimes those venues bring out the best in you and I really hope that’s the case on Saturday.

“This group of players have faced Rangers here (at Tannadice) earlier in the season and could have taken a point on the day. They know what to expect. They know how passionate the Rangers fans can be, and that the atmosphere will be intense at times. But we’ll try to use that to our advantage. I believe in my players.”

Goodwin has had success as a manager at Ibrox when he was at St Mirren. He is aiming to repeat that feat with United. He said: “You need to get a lot of different elements right.

“The concentration and the discipline out of possession is important. We need to take a lot of confidence from what we did well in the game against them here.

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“Then you look at what other teams have been able to do to Rangers over the last few months if you get everything right. We know there is a bit of negativity around that club at the moment, so we’ve got to go there with a positive mindset and try to use that negativity from the punters to our advantage. We will try to frustrate Rangers and, at the same time, impose ourselves and be braver in possession of the ball.”

Rangers have already lost to Celtic, Kilmarnock and Hearts and Goodwin has looked into those games to see where United could also get success. He said: “We analyse everything, defensively and offensively.

“St Mirren had a lot of success against Rangers at Ibrox and were unlucky not to get a result. Hearts, in the last time out against them, were very good. The shape of their team was excellent, and they carried a threat. Myself and the analyst are watching all of those games, trying to come up with a gameplan that suits the players we have.”

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