If last week’s Dundee United performance against Celtic was “rubbish with a capital R” according to boss Mixu Paatelainen, then Saturday’s display could possibly be regarded as “promising with a capital P”.
The new Tannadice head coach’s harsh words after the Parkhead mauling certainly seemed to have the desired motivational effect against Ross County with his players starting the game on the front foot.
There was lots of honest endeavour on show from the Tangerines as well as some pleasing play, especially early on.
Most importantly after what had happened in the east end of Glasgow last week, there was also plenty of fighting spirit on display against a well-drilled County outfit.
No-one at Tannadice will be getting carried away following this narrow victory but there were definitely green shoots of recovery on show.
It was United’s first win under Paatelainen and their first three points in the league since beating Motherwell on August 8.
The clean sheet was also more than welcome with United snuffing out Staggies’ danger man Liam Boyce.
In the wider scheme of things, hopefully the victory will act as a catalyst for a sustained resurgence to take the Tangerines away from the foot of the table.
Wednesday’s League Cup quarter-final against Hibs will be another big test before the game that probably matters more against Aberdeen in the Premiership next Saturday.
Following those two matches, we should know whether the “Promising” performance against Ross County was indeed a new dawn for United.