Jim Goodwin makes Hearts and Hibs reference in Dundee United promotion bid message

Dundee United are bidding to join Hearts and Hibs in the Premiership.

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin

Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin has made a reference to Hearts and Hibs ahead of the Tannadice club’s latest Championship clash.

A Raith Rovers win over Inverness has put champagne on ice for now but with a sizeable goal difference advantage, Goodwin’s men can go six points clear at the top of the league with two games to if they beat Ayr United on Saturday. Dundee United were relegated from the Premiership last season but look poised for an immediate return.

That would see them join Hearts, Hibs and city rivals Dundee in the top flight. Goodwin believes having these famous derbies back in the Premiership at the one time can only be good for the Scottish game at large. The Tannadice boss said: “I think everybody connected with Scottish football wants all of the big clubs involved in the top league.

“From a marketing perspective and an overall football spectacle. Having the Dundee derbies back, the Edinburgh derbies, the Glasgow derbies, that is what Scottish football is renowned for. That is certainly an added incentive to why we want to make sure we achieve what we set out to do at the beginning of the season.

“We are obviously a massive club with a great history. It's a club with facilities and infrastructure, and supporters, that as far as I'm concerned, should be in the Premier League.

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"Last season was an extremely disappointing one for everybody connected to the club, and this season we've worked hard in the summer, obviously we've had to balance the books and there's been a lot of big players who had to leave.

"We have had to build a squad that's competitive for the Championship and we've out ourselves in a great position at this moment in time. We are on track to achieve what that main objective was at the start of the campaign but as I said the message has always been to the group that nothing is done yet and we have to make sure that we don't take our eye off the ball."