Declan Gallagher is facing a race against time to be in contention for Dundee United’s showdown against Hibs as the experienced defender nurses a slight back injury.
Tannadice boss Jim Goodwin has confirmed that the knock was part of his reasoning in leaving Gallagher on the bench against Celtic at the weekend – while acknowledging that the Scotland international was willing to play through the pain.
Instead, Goodwin opted for a pacy centre-back pairing of Vicko Sevelj and Emmanuel Adegboyega, allowing United to play a high line and press the Hoops.
And the United boss insists he will shoulder the blame for the 5-0 defeat which followed.
“Dec (Gallagher) hasn’t trained all week,” said Goodwin. “He’s got a back issue, so we’ll have to wait and see how he is for the game against Hibs on Saturday.
“But it was a tactical thing more than anything else against Celtic.
“If I needed the big man to play, then he would have played through the pain. We just tried a different approach, and it worked for the first 20 minutes of the game. We were high, aggressive and were coping with the pace and the mobility of Celtic.
“But one or two moments in the game turned it on its head.
“As a manager, I’ve got to take responsibility for that. Technically, we tried to do things a little bit differently and it didn’t work out. Those are the decisions that you have to make as a manager.
“When they go right then it’s great, when they go wrong then you’ve got to accept the criticism that comes your way.”
Recovery hope
Gallagher will depart United this summer after it was confirmed that he will not be offered a new contract.
And Goodwin added: “Deccy has been a huge part of what we’ve done this season and he’s certainly going to play an important role over the next four fixtures.
“Although he has that slight issue with his back, we’re hoping that he’ll make a recovery in time for the game against Hibs. If not, we’ve got other ones available.”
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