Mark Birighitti is adamant he possesses the resilience and mental strength to bely his critics and help Dundee United secure Premiership safety.
The Australia international has endured a tumultuous debut season in Scottish football.
Damaging defeats against AZ Alkmaar and Hearts — by his own admission — left his confidence “shot”.
Then, just as some gradual momentum appeared to be building, a horror blunder in a 2-1 defeat against St Johnstone allowed Stevie May to slide-tackle the ball over the line to give the Perth Saints all three points last month.
Birighitti was pilloried across the board and, given it was initially thought he had suffered a dislocated shoulder and United began discussions with USA star Bill Hamid, there was tangible doubt over his Tannadice future.
I’m a strong character, a strong person and I don’t listen to outside noise.
Mark Birighitti
But the former A-League goalkeeper of the year has started United’s last two matches and his self-belief is evidently unshaken.
How not to play out from the back 😬
Over to you Dundee United…
(🎥 @BBCSportScot)#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/wlk3gnqerc
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) February 19, 2023
“You are going to make mistakes so it’s about how you recover from it,” said Birighitti. “It comes down to mental toughness and resilience.
“I’m a strong character, a strong person and I don’t listen to outside noise.
“I have good people around me, I have a coach who backs me. I have a close circle of people I speak to and listen to — people I trust and who know what’s best for me.”
Nevertheless, Birighitti acknowledges that blanking out that “noise” can be a challenge in 2023, given the prevalence of social media and 24-hour media and online discourse.
“It’s tough, people vent their frustration and have their opinions but I don’t read that stuff and let it get me down,” he continued. “People have an opinion but it means nothing to me.
“Back in the day, I was big on social media and loved reading the comments; what people had to say. But the more mature you get, I know how to handle it. It doesn’t do anyone good because it’s all negative.
“Sometimes the fans love you and sometimes they hate you.”
Dropped
In the aftermath of Birighitti’s high-profile error, previous head coach Liam Fox dropped him in favour of rookie stopper Jack Newman.
Despite a painful 4-0 defeat against Ross County — the death knell for Fox’s reign — Newman made a couple of decent saves to keep the score down.
However, incoming boss Jim Goodwin has restored Birighitti to the number one spot and, with no move for Hamid forthcoming, the Aussie seems likely to remain between the sticks for the run-in.
“The manager has come in and backed me,” he continued. “I want to repay that by giving 110% every week. I’m willing to fight hard for my position.
“It’s part and parcel of being a footballer when you get dropped. It’s about having the right attitude and being a good team-mate. There’s no point hiding and being down on yourself.
“You have to recover, and stay professional and resilient.”
Setting the standard
Birighitti did endure one wobbly moment against the Lions, spilling a tame Steven Bradley effort onto the base of the post.
▶️ Here are the goals as Dundee United drew at Livingston to pick up their first point in the league since January ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/bYMggOFskI
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 9, 2023
However, United ultimately claimed a precious point, with Aziz Behich’s second half strike cancelling out Bradley’s opener.
“Psychologically, the result was massive because we came back from a goal behind,” continued Birighitti. “We’ve not done that this year. It showed the boys have character and adds positivity.
“We scored a fantastic goal in the second half and could have snatched another. That second half sets the standard now. We just need to continue doing the basics right and the rest will take care of itself.”
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