Dundee United Manager Jim Goodwin spoke to the broadcast media to preview our UEFA Conference League Third Qualifying Round joust with SK Rapid Wien.

Summer additions, players returning from the treatment room, our tremendous home crowd and the incentive of progression was on the Boss' agenda at the DUFC Training Centre.

ON TEAM NEWS

Well, I think we'd be here too long if I said who wasn't available. Amar Fatah came back into the squad for the game on Sunday against Hearts. He's trained really well since, so he'll be a part of the matchday squad. Max Watters, thankfully, has made a full recovery from the little bug he picked up coming back from Vienna.

The rest of the guys who are long-term are obviously still absent — Ryan Strain, Ross Graham, Kristijan Trapanovski. Dario Naamo has still got a little bit to go in terms of his rehab, but the rest of the guys are all good and really looking forward to a fantastic game tomorrow night.

Unfortunately, the news wasn’t great for Isaac Pappoe. He has suffered ligament damage in and around the knee. There are ongoing discussions about how best to rehab that injury, but he’s going to be out for a lengthy period.

It is a real challenge. I’ve never had to face this situation this early in a campaign. Managers know you’ll have to go without one or two players at times, but on Sunday we were missing seven or eight really influential players — guys who could be in the starting eleven. That makes us stronger and gives more options. I don’t mean that as disrespect to the younger lads from the academy — they’ve done terrific.

We were excited about players like Naamo and Trapanovski, who had a great pre-season. Max Waters missed the Hearts game too. It’s been difficult. Nobody wants to hear you moaning about it, because it sounds like excuses — but it’s the reality. We just have to get the best out of those available.

It hasn’t really changed our recruitment strategy. Strain, Graham and Pappoe are out long term, but we have enough cover in those areas. Our back three — Iovu, Esselink and Keresztes — are strong. Sam Cleall-Harding is waiting for his opportunity. Vicko Ševelj can fill in there too. We’re okay in midfield and at wing-back. We might still add one or two more in key positions, but once we have everyone fit, we’ll be a tough team to face.

I think we’re in a good place and we’ll start to see a few players coming out of the treatment room soon.

ON THE ADDITION OF JULIUS ESKESEN AND THE QUALITIES HE'LL BRING

We’re really pleased to get Julius done. It’s the type of player I think we’ve been missing in the midfield area — one that can tie it all together. The recruitment process has gone really well from the beginning of the season and that is now our 12th signing of the transfer window. There’s still time before the window shuts, but we’ve added real energy, athleticism, and good pace at the top end of the pitch.

What we’ve lacked in midfield is just an out-and-out creative type. We’ve got guys who are really comfortable on the ball — Sibbald, Ševelj, Camará — but Julius brings something different. He’s got a really good range of passing, plays forward, and sees things other players maybe don’t. Hopefully we’ll see him at the weekend against Kilmarnock. I’m sure he’ll play some kind of part.

ON FURTHER ADDITIONS

I don’t like saying how many more we need because we’re talking to different players in different positions. I’m really pleased with what we’ve done. Ross Goodwin, our new head of recruitment, has worked tirelessly. He’s identified fantastic talent. I gave him the player profiles back in March or April, and he’s ticked all the boxes. Then it’s up to me to decide which ones we go ahead with. A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get these deals done.

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF SENIOR PLAYERS 

Senior players are invaluable to a good team. I’ve always relied on them to set training standards, create the right dressing room culture, and lead on matchdays. Craig Sibbald has stepped up — he played with an injury last season, and now that he’s fit, we’re seeing the best of him again. He and the likes of Ševelj and Will Ferry are key figures in the squad, helping to knit everything together during this rebuild.

The injuries have meant younger players have had chances. That’s a great opportunity for them, and we’ve been able to evaluate them more closely. I’ve always kept a close eye on the academy and given many debuts. We’ve got some really talented prospects with big futures if they keep their heads down and continue to develop.

Nobody more so than Owen Stirton — he’s been brilliant lately and played his first 90 minutes in the Premiership against Hearts. He’s improving every week. Cleall-Harding is another close to getting a chance. We always have five or six young lads training with the first team, and that pathway remains a priority for the club.

ON THE SHEER MAGNITUDE OF THE MATCH

It’s a huge game, obviously. It’s a great occasion, especially off the back of the performance last week in Vienna. It was a great atmosphere, generated by both sets of supporters. Our own fans are going to turn out in great numbers and we need them to generate the same hostile atmosphere we felt from the Rapid Vienna fans last week.

The players put in a great performance. We’ve taken learnings from the game — both goals were certainly avoidable, and there were moments we could’ve done better. But from an attacking perspective, we caused Vienna real problems and scored a couple of good goals. It’s going to take the same commitment and effort, which won’t be an issue.

The guys are really excited. They’ve played a lot of football early on this season, but fatigue doesn’t come into it. The adrenaline will carry them through. Hopefully, it’ll be a really memorable evening.

We know well enough about the historic 1980s fixture. It would be brilliant if we were able to progress. We're expecting a tough game. Rapid Vienna had a really good result themselves against Sturm Graz at the weekend, so they'll take confidence from that.

We know their dangers — they’re fluid and quick in attack — but we felt we caused them problems at the back too. I hope it makes for a really entertaining game and fingers crossed we can shade it.

This game is massive. It’s where all managers, players and staff want to be — big European games with so much on the line. The players know what’s at stake. It’s exciting. Rapid Vienna are a good team, and many still see them as favourites, but with a sold-out home crowd behind us, we hope to make it a memorable night.

ON THE GROUP GELLING QUICKLY & EUROPEAN INCENTIVES

With the rebuild we knew was coming, I think we’re in a fantastic position. The only downside is the injuries, which have cost us in recent weeks. Nobody can pre-empt that. But when everyone’s fit, we’ve got a strong and competitive squad to compete at the top end of the table.

It does take time to gel all the new players. Pre-season is short when you’re straight into competitive European games. I thought we managed that well with the two Strassen games and the Falkirk game. The group we’ve had available has been fantastic. We played really well against Hearts in the first 45 minutes. You could see some tiredness creeping in later in the game after the effort in Vienna.

I’ve really enjoyed the European experience. It’s a reward for the hard work we did last season. Some of those players are still here, and we’re grateful to the ones who helped get us here. We’re looking forward to a huge game against Rapid Vienna. The financial and football rewards of Europe are obvious.

You see what other clubs are doing in terms of investment — these European spots are vital to club sustainability. It makes us want to be here every year. To do that, we need to compete strongly domestically. Once we have our full squad available, I believe we can match anyone on our day. That’s the challenge for all of us.

ON CONTINOUS IMPROVEMENT

It’s the job of any manager to identify talent and build a team that fits your style. We wanted to add pace and athleticism, and you can see that now with the likes of Dol?ek, Sapsford, Waters, and Trapanovski when fit. We’ve got real threat at the top of the pitch, and we’ve scored a number of goals from playing forward quickly. I’m happy with how the group has gelled.

We’re not the finished article, but we’ll improve week to week. We conceded sloppy goals at the weekend, but the performance was good. I believe Hearts under Derek McInnes will be right up there challenging. The fact we went toe-to-toe with them — and arguably should’ve taken something — gives us great optimism.

It’s also pleasing to see goals coming from different areas. It’s always important that strikers get off the mark early — Waters, Sapsford and Dol?ek have all scored already. Now we need to make sure we tighten up at the back.

Defensive solidity was a big part of our success last season. We’ve let leads slip in both of our league games — against Falkirk and Hearts — and only have one point to show for them, so the new lads that have come in need to understand what the Scottish game entails and need to learn really, really quickly.

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