Sean Dillon is absolutely convinced Dundee United will stay up this season and he doesn’t mind if any doubters laugh at him for saying it.
The Tangerines grabbed a much-needed lifeline by thumping relegation rivals Kilmarnock 5-1 on Saturday.
The result came on the back of a clear-the-air meeting earlier in the week between players and manager.
However, Dillon insists the open and frank discussion was not the primary reason for the stunning win and he has believed for a while that results would turn for his side.
The captain, who scored his side’s fifth goal, said: “The way we’ve been playing I’ve always been confident about getting results and I’ve said that for a long time so it would be wrong just to say that meeting was the reason for the win.
“I’ve always said we can stay up. If someone laughs at me I understand that. And just because we won on Saturday that doesn’t mean we’ll stay up but in my head I believe we’ll do it.
“It’s nice to win a game and the way we won, getting a few goals, that’s great. But three points is most important. The fans also deserve a lot of credit.
“They’ve stuck with it and it’s nice to give them something back.
“I believe we will survive. This was a big game.”
Dillon’s superb goal put the final gloss on the win but he modestly smiled and said: “It was bobble city for my goal!
“There was a little bit of space. I gave it to Simon (Murray), he flicked it and then I made a mess of my shot which was blocked. I got a big bit of luck with it dropping straight to Billy (Mckay) and even my touch after that wasn’t the best but it went in.”
The only dark clouds on an otherwise bright day for United were the first-half injuries to Coll Donaldson, who had to be carried off after breaking his nose, and Guy Demel with the midfielder also having to be replaced after picking up a knock.