Dundee United boss Ray McKinnon admits he is wary of the customary “new manager bounce” tomorrow’s opponents St Mirren should receive in what will be Jack Ross’s first game in charge.
The Paisley side may be propping up the Championship at the moment but the Tangerines gaffer is certainly taking nothing for granted.
He believes that considering the strength of squad St Mirren have at their disposal, they are in a false position and his side are in for a tricky afternoon.
McKinnon said: “They’ve got a right good squad. We’ve looked at all their games and done all the analysis. They play some nice football.
“I watched them against Falkirk the other week at home and they were excellent.
“I know it finished 1-1 but they deserved to win that game.
“They’re possibly in a false position and now Jack has come in, they’ll probably get a response from that. We know it’s going to be a tough game.
“I think Jack is good at what he does and the St Mirren players will like him.
“He seems focused and driven so is a good fit for St Mirren at the moment.”
The game in Paisley will mark the end of the first quarter of the league campaign.
However, McKinnon insists that considering the amount of personnel changes made at Tannadice over the summer, it is too early to make hard and fast assessments and he will reserve judgement until at least the festive season.
The manager said: “I’ve not really given the first quarter thing that much thought.
“It was more just about getting this team together.
“I think once this quarter is over, then we’ll start really looking at the next quarter and then on towards Christmas.
“It’s where we are then (Christmas) which is important. We feel we are getting better with each passing week.
“We’ve had some great performances and some mediocre, but I think we’re just going to get better with each passing week.
“We need everyone fit and that’s the secret when you consider how many injuries we’ve had.”
There is finally some light at the end of the tunnel in regards to those injuries with Cammy Bell, Willo Flood and Tope Obadeyi all having a chance of playing a part against St Mirren while Lewis Toshney is also progressing well.
McKinnon added: “We just have to monitor Cammy (groin) Willo (thigh) and Tope (hamstring).
“Cammy did a bit in training earlier this week. We’re hopeful but we’ll just wait and see. All three have a chance.
“If they come through training, they’ll be in contention but, at the same time, we won’t be taking any risks.
“Tosher is much better. Fingers crossed he’ll not be too long out and he’s normally very quick in recovery.”
