| Goodwillie came off the bench on Saturday to net a last-gasp equaliser against Hibs and, with fellow-striker Jon Daly likely to be ruled out for a considerable period, the Scotland U/21 international is set to be heavily involved in the run-in.
Indeed, the manager will have no qualms about playing the 20-year-old, who he described as a “silly laddie” for antics in the past.
“He’s a bit more mature now,” said Craig, who also felt too much was asked of Goodwillie too soon. “There was a lot of hype surrounding David when I first came to the club.
“It was early in his career and he was thrust into the limelight, which didn’t do him a lot of good.
“The team wasn’t doing particularly well and a lot of people were hanging their hat on a young boy to get us out of trouble.
“He was being pushed forward far too quickly and he was a silly laddie getting involved in certain things off the park.
“But he’s knuckled down and he’s stronger mentally and, as I’ve said, a far more mature person.
“He hasn’t played enough first-team games to be regarded as a regular, but now I’m far more comfortable putting him in the team.”
United were today still awaiting the results of a scan on Daly’s knee. |
