Jim Goodwin aims to deny Hibs season-sparking win as Dundee United boss insists Tangerines 'in a good place'

Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin believes Hibs are too good to be battling at the bottom of the Premiership.

But the Tangerines boss has tasked his side with denying them the win he thinks could spark their season.

David Gray’s Hibees have won just once in the league and find themselves locked in a basement battle with capital city rivals Hearts.

That doesn’t reflect the Easter Road side’s ability, according to Goodwin.

And while the United boss has sympathy for Hibs counterpart David Gray, he aims to ensure his side don’t provide the springboard he desperately needs.

“Obviously Hibs are in a difficult position at the moment at the table,” he said.

“I think they will come good personally. I hope David Gray gets the time to turn it around.

“If anybody was ever going to be given time in management in Scotland at the moment, it would be David you would like to think, given the service he’s given to Hibs.

“I think they’ve got far too much quality in their squad to be in the position that they’re in.

“It happens that they look like a group that just needs any kind of a win to get some confidence and momentum – but we have to hope that that’s not against us on Sunday.”

United claimed a thrilling, last-gasp win over Hibs at Tannadice a fortnight ago.

However, they have lost both of their games since.

Nevertheless, Goodwin believes the Tangerines’ performances remain of the level required to win matches – and that’s his target this weekend.

“We played really well in the game on Wednesday night for large periods of the game,” he said.

“The goals that we’ve conceded are the bit that’s hurting us the most at the moment because we believe that they’re so avoidable. It’s not like teams are carving us open from open play.

“We’ve got a really good shape about us out of possession, but these dead ball situations and obviously the second goal is a mistake, it can happen.

“Defenders, goalkeepers, when you make those types of mistakes you tend to get punished at this level, but there’s plenty of positives that we can take from it.

“We’ve obviously had a positive result against Hibs a couple of weeks ago, so we’re going there with good intentions and in a good place I think, really.”