Colin Calderwood believes Hibernian are travelling to Tannadice at a good time to end their slump and extend Dundee United's barren run.
Hibs have two wins and eight points from nine Clydesdale Bank Premier League games ahead of Saturday's match with Peter Houston's men, who have lost three straight games. United are a team Calderwood admires and it would be a boost for Hibs ahead of the Edinburgh derby to return from Tayside without suffering another loss.
Calderwood, who oversaw a 4-2 defeat at Aberdeen in his first match in charge last weekend, said: "A team of that level you don't often see that run of defeats, so it's got to be a slight advantage. (But) they look a good group of professional footballers, I'm quite impressed with what I see with them. If you're above Dundee United, you'll definitely be in the top six come the end of the season."
United were third last term behind Rangers and Celtic and won the Scottish Cup, while Hibs were fourth. This season Hibs have struggled, leading to Calderwood replacing John Hughes as manager, but victory Saturday could see them climb into the SPL's top six in a compact table.
Calderwood added: "It's important we take points to move ourselves away from the bottom of the league, then we'll bring everyone a little bit tighter too."
Following Saturday's match, Hibs meet capital rivals Hearts at Easter Road, then play defending champions Rangers and Motherwell in quick succession. Rather than be overawed by the prospect of such fixtures so early into his new role, Calderwood is excited.
"We want to get started and we want to make a marked difference on the impression we gave last week. It's a top league and you would want those fixtures," he said.
"Preferably we'd want to be a little more confident about what we're going to produce on a Saturday, but I think we'll see that this weekend. Admittedly we'd want some more points and be higher up the league to take us closer to the top."
Source: PA
