Dundee United’s Ryan Edwards vows to put own goal disappointment behind him

Dundee United captain Ryan Edwards is determined to bounce back from scoring own goals in his last two matches.

The defender admits he is hurting after being at the centre of key moments in his team’s 1-1 draw away to Aberdeen last weekend and Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat at Livingston, after which supporters turned on the team.

Edwards is intent on ensuring he responds positively when his side host third-place Hearts on Saturday.

“I’ve got to take whatever comes on the chin but I’ll bounce back,” he told United TV. “Obviously it hurts but everyone has bad games where they make a few mistakes, or has a bad situation in the season. But you have to get on with it.

“You can’t whinge about it or start all that rubbish about ‘oh, I’m sorry for this’ as if you’ve done it on purpose. You just get on with it. It’s football, stuff like that happens. I’ve got to try and put it right on Saturday.”

United have won only two of their last 15 league games and are now in a battle to stay in the top six. They are currently sixth but have four teams beneath them who are within three points, with four games before the split.

“We’ve got to turn the corner at some point,” said Edwards. “Aberdeen and Livingston were big opportunities for us and so is this Saturday. We need to right the wrongs.

“There’s no hiding how big Saturday is. We’re back at home so hopefully we can get the job done. We’ve got a big few games before the split.”