TITLE talk this early in the season is normally considered ridiculous. But should Dundee United not watch, they could be in danger of seeing league leaders Hibs disappear into the distance in the race for the flag.
That is the view of Paul Dixon, the United defender, who helped Ray McKinnon's side eventually ensure their place in the fourth round of the Irn Bru Challenge Cup at the weekend after scraping past Peterhead 3-2 courtesy of new boy Anthony Andreu's headed winner in the dying minutes of extra-time.
It's been a somewhat undistinguished start to the season for the revamped Tangerines, whose main objective clearly remains securing a return to the Premiership following relegation last term.
United, at this stage, sit seven points behind pacesetters Hibs, who have won all four of their opening league games so far.
Perhaps just as worryingly for the Taysiders is the fact they twice conceded the lead on Saturday before ultimately overcoming the part-time Blue Toon with only four minutes of extra-time left on the clock.
Dixon, 29, believes the title-chasing Tangerines are well enough equipped to forge a path back to the top-flight, but knows allowing the Easter Road club to amass such a considerable lead even at this stage could prove detrimental to their own hopes of getting their hands on the trophy.
“We need to try and hit the ground running," stated Dixon after this five-goal encounter.
“It's been a win, two draws and a defeat so far in the league.
“We want to try and build on something and build momentum to take us through the season.
“It's still very early in the season, but you don't want one team cruising away from the rest because it does become hard to catch up.
“If we can keep ourselves focused on what we have to do and do our jobs by getting the three points on a Saturday and not worry about anybody else, we'll be fine.
“I think this season in periods of play throughout games, you can see there's a lot of quality in the team.
“We just have to take our chances when they come.
“Also, we need to make sure when we're on top we need to keep focused and not leave the back door open to allow teams to score against us.
“There are positive signs so hopefully we can step on.”
Charlie Telfer's sublime strike in just 59 seconds got McKinnon's hopefuls off to a flier but Rory McAllister levelled in 29 minutes, before Dutchman Nick van der Velden put the hosts back in front in 34 minutes, only for McAllister to make it 2-2 a minute later.
On-loan Norwich City attacker Andreu made himself an instant hero with the United fans with his 116th minute winner, and Dixon admitted he was pleasantly surprised they managed to sign the talented Frenchman in the final hours of the Transfer Window.
He added: “I was surprised we got him.
“I didn't expect that one to be honest.
“To be fair, I think it hit a certain point at night and I just shut off from the transfer window.
“It wasn't until the next morning that I read about it that we'd got him.
“It gives you a wee boost going into training knowing that the manager is bringing in players of that calibre.
“I think you saw in bits when he was on the ball that he's very sharp.
“He gets into wee pockets and he's a danger.
“He took his goal very well and we just need to get him involved as much as possible and get him scoring goals, like he did previously in Scotland with Hamilton.”
United, with new defenders Frank van der Struijk and William Edjenguele both making their debuts, once more looked impressive in spells but their habit of allowing the opposition back into things is still a concern.
Dixon, for one, admits they need to master the art of killing games if they're to kick on and really launch their push for promotion.
He said: “On both occasions, we've scored but let them score relatively quickly after it.
“It's something you see in football all the time. A team is at their most vulnerable when they've just scored.
“When we score goals, we need to switch on and learn to shut up shop.
“I think it will take a wee bit of time to gel but we've got to try and kill the game for a few minutes to keep ourselves on top.”
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