| Gordon has admitted that whoever comes out on top on Saturday will take a huge step towards SPL survival, but, after seeing his men pick up seven points in their last three games, he won’t be changing a successful formula
In fact, he insists he will continue to keep his players’ preparations low-key for what many are describing as the most important city derby in 25 years.
“People have said it’s the biggest derby since the 1980 League Cup Final, and they are probably right. You only have to look at the league table to see how important it is,” he said.
“This game is about much more than just bragging rights, whoever wins will take a massive step towards safety.
“Our preparations have not changed at all over the last six weeks, we’ve looked at every game the same. We’ve been training at a very high intensity so it would be almost impossible to crank it up even more just because of who we are playing.
“You can sense that something is going on because of the media attention and the buzz about the city itself, but it won’t be until tomorrow or Friday that the players really get a feel for it. That’s the way I want it because nothing can take our focus away from those three points.”
Derek McInnes and Jason Scotland are United’s only injury concerns. Both players are struggling with knee injuries.
“Derek and Jason haven’t trained this week, so it’s really difficult to say whether they will be involved on Saturday,” added Gordon.
“We’ll monitor them over the next few days and take things from there.”
United’s Under-21 side won 2-1 at Kilmarnock yesterday, and striker James Grady did his derby prospects no harm by grabbing one of the goals. Willie Easton was the other Tangerine scorer.
At Dens, Dundee’s main concern continues to be the fitness of central defender Brent Sancho, who damaged ankle ligaments in the defeat at Kilmarnock at the weekend.
If the Trinidadian fails to recover, it could force manager Jim Duffy into a reshuffle at the back with Callum Macdonald moving alongside Bobby Mann at the heart of the defence and Stephen McNally being risked at right-back.
McNally has only just recovered from a back injury, but, with limited options, the manager may decide to gamble on his inclusion.
Meanwhile, Dundee will screen the derby live over the internet to fans across the globe. It will be the first-ever live broadcast over the web from Dens.
Supporters within the UK can watch a delayed transmission from midnight on Sunday. The price for both screenings has still to be set. |
