Jim Goodwin says Dundee United will find out what they are made of after their first league defeat of the season.
After an unbeaten run of 15 matches to kick off their Scottish Championship campaign, the Tangerines were downed by title rivals Raith Rovers on Saturday.
Dylan Easton’s superb strike was all that separated the sides in a game that saw Ian Murray’s side go five points clear at the top of the Championship, with United having played a game fewer.
Tannadice boss Goodwin said his players are desperate to get back to winning ways at Hampden versus Queen’s Park on Friday night.
And while Goodwin is sympathetic to fans’ frustration, he is also keen to put the defeat in perspective.
Jim Goodwin on Dundee United’s ‘strong characters’
“It allows Raith to open up that gap a little bit between us and them – albeit we have that game in hand down at Morton in the new year,” he told Dundee United TV.
“You find out a lot about yourself in these moments. As a group, we’ll find out what we’re made of.
“There’s strong characters in there and we’re desperate to make amends and get back to winning ways.”
One of the players Goodwin is referring to is striker Louis Moult, who told Courier Sport the Dundee United players “let down” the supporters on Saturday.
He has now gone seven matches without a goal.
Goodwin maintains perspective here also and maintains his players are doing far more right than wrong.
“I don’t think there is a game I can look back at and say it was a lack of professionalism or attitude or discipline or anything like that,” he said.
“Sometimes – in games like [Saturday] – you come up against an opposition that’s very organised, it’s compact and hard to break down. Unfortunately, that was the case.
“It’s not something we’ve been used to. We’ve scored the most goals in the league so far, we’ve only conceded seven.
“There’s a lot of things we have been doing right.”
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