Dunfermline v Dundee United: Players united behind Peter Houston

United chairman Stephen Thompson jetted back into Scotland yesterday from a family holiday in Florida and will attend East End Park for today’s clash with Dunfermline. It’s understood he will hold talks with Houston tomorrow about the team’s current form.

Houston’s stewardship of the Tangerines this season has come under close scrutiny after they won just two of their opening 12 matches, although the 53-year-old – who led United to the Scottish Cup in 2010 – is confident of turning things around.

They were dumped out of the League Cup on penalty kicks against Falkirk in midweek, prompting Thompson to curtail his holiday. But Houston is sure he has the full backing of his players as they attempt to climb the table and Rankin, signed from Hibs in the summer, insists the team are all behind their manager.

He said: “The dressing room is totally behind the manager, everyone is working in the same direction. We are a million per cent behind the gaffer and the spirit among the whole squad is incredible.

“Obviously we saw what was in the papers but every game brings pressure so this one won’t be any different to usual. We are putting pressure on ourselves because we want to do better than we are. It will be treated like any other game, we just want to get a win so we can go four points ahead of Dunfermline.

“We need characters and it’s at times like this you see who your characters are. It’s time to step up to the plate for everyone and I’m sure we’ll do that.

“This is not a dressing room which is going to hide from anything. We’ll step up to the challenge and go for it.”

Houston has expressed surprise that doubt has been cast over his future as early as October and Rankin agrees it’s far too early for anyone to draw conclusions about how United’s season will unfold. He added: “It is very early in the season and if we win on Saturday we can go to sixth place. We were all gutted to go out of the cup on Tuesday but we have been back in training and want to put it behind us.

“Of course we want to be higher up the league table but a few wins and we’re right up there again. I don’t understand why anyone would want to panic and there’s certainly no panicking going on among the manager or players.

“Hopefully, everyone will be looking at things from a very different angle come five o’clock on Saturday. If we can beat Dunfermline, which won’t be easy, then we will be looking towards the top end of the table rather than the bottom.”

While disappointed by the League Cup exit at the hands of Falkirk, Houston insists his players have not been feeling sorry for themselves. “The players have been in great spirits, first and foremost,” the manager insisted.

“They were very disappointed to lose the cup tie, as we all were at United. I will reiterate that we could not have put any more into the game. What we could have done better is take our chances instead of missing the target.

“We are not yet getting the rub of the green on the park just now but that can change. You expect things to turn but you have to work hard to make that happen. We have to show the same level of desire and commitment that we showed the other night, while also taking the opportunities that come our way. I will tell the players not to feel sorry for themselves because we got knocked out of the cup. We must use it as a spur to go on and win games.”

Dunfermline’s Craig Easton expects to face a determined United side. The midfielder – who believes United have been subjected to some harsh criticism, especially after losing talent such as David Goodwillie, Craig Conway and Morgaro Gomis in the summer – said: “They struggled the other night but it was a tough tie for them. I know they are getting a bit of stick but it was never going to be easy.

“It will be a tough game for us. I’m sure they will want to put the cup tie behind them, so they will be right up for this. We have to be ready for that, and I’m sure we will.”

The 32-year-old added: “When you have players doing really well, they are going to get snapped up by bigger clubs. It doesn’t help if you’re trying to build a team. It’s hard to compete with clubs in England and the wages. The boys who have left have all gone to big clubs in England.

“But they have a lot of good youngsters coming through. We played them in a friendly recently and they looked pretty tidy.

“We know what it’s going to be like but we’re confident we can get a result.”