Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin ponders changes after back-to-back defeats

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin will consider changes after a second consecutive defeat but mainly because some fringe players have made a strong case for starts.

Substitute Louis Moult scored a brilliant equaliser and set up a great chance in last Friday’s 2-1 Premier Sports Cup defeat by Motherwell.

With summer signing Jort van der Sande yet to score in seven starts, Moult could be in line for his first William Hill Premiership start when United face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on Saturday.

When asked about the former Motherwell striker’s chances, Goodwin said: “We’ve got a number of good players within the squad that haven’t had the kind of minutes they would have hoped for up until now, but that’s purely been down to the good run of form that the 11 players who have the jersey have shown.

“But obviously we are now coming into this game on the back of a couple of defeats and there’s options there for me if I decide to make any changes.

“We played really, really well in the second half and that change of shape certainly worked.”

Moult came on with fellow forward Sam Dalby just before the hour mark and Goodwin is not averse to playing two up front.

“We’ve got options to play with a lone striker or two,” he said. “We have good flexibility in the group to change system prior to a game or during the game.

“The whole thing about the recruitment process is to make sure we have good strength in depth and I think we have done that. We have really good options right across the board, we have really good competition for places and the players who are in the team know they need to perform to make sure they keep the jersey.

“And those guys who are coming on as substitutes have to make an impact. I think we have seen that.

“It’s important we have that strength in depth and it’s worked really well for us up to now. We have had a positive start in the league and we are looking to build on that against Kilmarnock.”