Partick Thistle boss Kris Doolan wary of wounded Dundee United in Viaplay Cup tie

Kris Doolan knows his Partick Thistle side will face a wounded Dundee United on the back of a humbling defeat to Spartans in the Viaplay Cup when the teams meet at Tannadice.

The Jags boss is all too aware of the pressure opposite number Jim Goodwin is under ahead of the Group B game, but insists his focus is on improving Thistle’s stuttering start following their draw with Peterhead.

The Championship side did claim a bonus point win over their fourth tier opponents in a marathon series of spot kicks having been held 1-1 at 90 minutes.

But Doolan is keen to avoid any further slip ups by laying down a marker against recently relegated United, who are still smarting from their 1-0 loss at Ainslie Park on Saturday.

Managers come under fire so quickly and we always say the one thing you don’t get is time,” he said.

“We know that. But, you know, if you look after a team like Dundee United, they’ll expect to win these type of games.

“So Jim will know that, I know that. I know that you’ve got to win games but for us, again, I can’t affect what happens at Dundee United. I can only affect what happens with Partick Thistle.

“So we’ll look after ourselves and I’m sure Jim will look after Dundee United.”

United fans reacted furiously to the defeat with unsavoury scenes at full time when coach Davie Bowman became embroiled in a row with one supporter venting their anger.

The Tangerines have won just four of their previous 21 games in all competitions, but Goodwin is determined he will get a “positive reaction” from his players.

“Saturday’s result was extremely disappointing for everybody,” he said.

“It’s going to be another difficult game, no doubt. I would expect Partick to be right up there at the top of the Championship competing for promotion. They had a great season last season.

“Obviously they’ve lost a few key players from that squad, including a couple of boys who are here with us (Kevin Holt and Ross Docherty), but we don’t underestimate anybody.

“We need to dust ourselves down and show a real positive reaction against Partick to get that feelgood factor back around the place.”