Preview: Dundee United (a)

Is it fair to put all of our current woes down to one game? If we had beaten St Johnstone in the cup we probably wouldn't have collapsed in the league. We wouldn't have had the last minute relegation panic and a trip to Hampden would have given us a fond memory. In consequence Malpas probably wouldn't be looking through job adverts right now. But that of course would only have papered over the cracks. There is no denying that we are presently absolutely abysmal. We have played well on no more than a handful of occasions and the vast majority of our squad are frequently mediocre. We need a complete overhaul at Fir Park and that's just in the football department; going into the problems above would take pages by itself but that is a different argument for now.

Murphy scores

Dundee United deserve credit for reducing their prices to £5 and £1 for this game even if the move is only to ensure people other than season ticket holders bother to turn up for what is a friendly. That should ensure a decent(ish) Motherwell support travel through although how many are motivated solely by the proximity of the away enclosure to the away dug out remains to be seen. We will certainly have a highly experimental team out and it is important that the players are supported even if the manager is on the receiving end of some less constructive comments.

We will be without Scott McDonald who is in Australia following a family bereavement so Jamie Murphy could be given his first start alongside Ross McCormack. Keegan and Clarkson will be on the bench although there would be few complaints if they were both left in Motherwell. Kerr won't be considered so McBride and Vadocz look to be the likely pair in the middle while Kenny Connolly will appear somewhere as well. Paterson should be able to return so there is good news that his injury from Burchill's tackle wasn't too bad. Reynolds is back from suspension at the back while Craigan will sit out as a booking would rule him out of the early fixtures next season. Presumably McLean will feature to continue his comeback although it would seem likely to be from the bench.

Dundee United will also have a decimated team out so there isn't really an excuse if we get thumped. Indeed, the result doesn't matter too much but we would like to avoid the embarrassment of St Mirren jumping us in the table and if the players selected produce another apathetic and shambolic performance it will no doubt be another nail in Malpas' coffin. We may perform a bit better but without McDonald we'll struggle to create and our defence is still shaky. We'll end with a 2-1 defeat.

Remember what happened last time we were at Tannadice?