| Tangerines boss Craig Levein rates the SPL newcomers highly and believes his team will have to go about their business in the right manner if they are to bounce back from last week’s defeat at Dunfermline.
That means a tighter defensive performance, but also a continuation of the passing game that saw United dominate for long spells against the Pars.
“It’s obvious we have to defend a little better, because we lost two bad goals last week and that is something we have been working on,” said Craig today.
“We also want to get the ball down, pass it and use it quickly, but that is something that can been dictated to an extent by the team you are playing — and St Mirren are hard to break down.
“Coming in, they recognised this is a league that is about being solid and being organised, and that is what they have been complimented a lot on this year, so it is not going to be easy.
“However, we are at home and the onus is on us to go and try to win the game and, to be fair to the players, that is what they have done in every game so far.
“It might require a bit of patience and we have to recognise that we don’t have a big 6 ft. 4 in. striker we can bang the ball up to, so we have to be creative.
“Again, in fairness that is what the players did at Dunfermline last week and played quite well, so it is about keeping that going.”
As usual, Craig was reluctant to reveal too much about changes he may make, but he did concede defender David McCracken looks to be losing his battle to overcome a hamstring strain.
If he is unfit, who partners Garry Kenneth in the heart of defence will only be revealed when the team list is submitted an hour before kick-off, but the main candidates look to be Alan Archibald, in a straight swap, or Lee Mair moving from right-back with David Proctor returning to fill in there.
“I’d say right now that the odds are against David, but we do have an extra day this week and we will see if that helps. I do have a change in mind if I have to make it,” added Craig. |
