Dundee United central defender Mark Connolly insists the Tangerines are paying little attention to the league table.
Even when they are not playing, things appear to be going the way of the Championship leaders.
Without a game since beating Queen of the South 3-0 at Tannadice on November 16, United go into Saturday’s home match against Alloa with a healthy advantage over the other promotion hopefuls.
They sit seven points clear of second-placed Inverness with a game in hand, nine ahead of Ayr after their home loss to Dunfermline on Tuesday, are 11 and a game in hand better off than Dunfermline in fourth, while fifth-placed Dundee have also played one match more than United and are 12 adrift.
With the Christmas presents still weeks away from being unwrapped, that is a commanding position to be in to say the least.
However, Connolly insists the Tangerines are not sneaking even a wee glance at the standings.
The Irishman declared: “I honestly haven’t looked at it.
“I don’t really care about the table.
“All I care about – I think I speak for the majority of the dressing-room here – is that we are focusing on every game.
“That is all we can do.
“If you start looking at other teams and results you are going to lose track of where you are going yourselves.
“We have Alloa at Tannadice on Saturday, which is a really tough game for us as they have beaten us before this season.
“That is all we can focus on.
“Once the final whistle goes, we focus on the next one.
“We need to concentrate on winning our games and that is all we can do.
“We are at the top of the table and we have been there from the start of the season.
“We want to stay there but all we can do is focus on ourselves.
“When you start worrying about other things that are going on, that’s when performances start slipping up.”
Connolly missed two months of the season with a hamstring injury that cut short his Dundee derby appearance on August 30.
He has featured as a substitute against both Inverness and the Dark Blues since then and is raring to go when he gets his opportunity.
He said: “We have a strong squad full of good players and with myself, Lawrence (Shankland) and Pete (Pawlett) back into the fold after injury we will all be ready whenever we are needed.
“I think the boys have done very, very well since we have been out so we may just have to bide our time and wait for our chance.
“It is good for the football club and the team that you know you have to look over your shoulder.
“If you are playing, you know you have to be doing well because there is good competition here for places.
“That will breed success, with boys constantly being on their toes.”
The long break United have had – they even managed to squeeze in their Christmas night out in Dublin – was the reason manager Robbie Neilson arranged a bounce game against Falkirk on Tuesday.
Now Connolly believes the Tangerines are desperate to get some competitive game time against the Wasps.
He said: “With the game getting cancelled at Morton the other day and the way the fixtures were, it has been a few weeks since we have played but the boys are raring to go on Saturday.
“Sometimes it is nice to get a rest, sometimes it isn’t.
“You want to keep the routine of still playing but there are a few games coming up in a short period.
“I feel like we want to keep playing.
“A week’s rest is OK but you don’t want to take two or three weeks off – that is a bit long.
“You want to keep the momentum going, hence the reason why the gaffer arranged a game on Tuesday to keep up match fitness.
“I would stress that training has been tough and there has been no slacking off or resting up with days off.
“That’s the way it will be until the end of the season.”
