Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin insists he isn’t fretting about a hostile reception from Aberdeen fans on Saturday evening when he returns to Pittodrie for the first time since his sacking.
The Irishman was dismissed by the Dons in January last year after presiding over the club’s worst-ever result – a Scottish Cup loss to sixth-tier Darvel – followed by a 6-0 defeat at Hibs.
But Goodwin has rebuilt his reputation at United, who currently occupy fourth place on their top-flight return and are aiming to end Jimmy Thelin’s unbeaten start in the Aberdeen hotseat.
“All games on the road are difficult and Pittodrie is a great venue to play football in, Saturday evening under the lights, live on the telly, it’s got the makings of a really good game,” said Goodwin.
“It’s two good teams going at it. Yes, they’re unbeaten at the moment but those runs do need to come to an end at some point and we’ve got to believe that we are capable of being the team to do it.
“I’m looking forward to a warm welcome! They [the Aberdeen fans] don’t faze me. I would expect the supporters to be delighted with the start that their team has had and I would imagine they’ll focus their energy on getting behind their own team.
“My focus is on Dundee United. Aberdeen is a thing of the past for me now.
“We’ve had a great start to the season we’re in a really good place at the moment. We’ve got a tough test on Saturday but the players have shown they’re capable of rising to the challenge and hopefully we’ll see that on Saturday.
“Pittodrie is a great venue, it’ll be a full house no doubt, it’ll be a hostile environment for our players but we have to use that to our advantage and try and quieten the crowd early on.”