United must match Rangers performance against Celtic - Goodwin

Jim Goodwin knows his Dundee United side must be at their best against Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday, but believes they have what it takes to upset the odds. The Tannadice outfit earned a deserved point in their Scottish Premiership opener against Rangers before losing 4-0 at Hearts last weekend. "It's obviously one of the most difficult draws that you could get," Goodwin told DUTV. "You know that if you're going to win a cup then you're going to have to face some of the big boys at some stage in the competition. "Ideally, you probably don't want to be meeting them until the semi-final or the final, but the draw has thrown this fixture up. "It's early days to be playing Celtic, but it's a really good test for the players. They performed really, really well in the last home game against Rangers, the atmosphere within the stadium was incredible. "Our supporters contributed greatly on the night, and we gave them plenty to cheer about in that game, and we have to make sure we do the same again tomorrow evening if we're going to get a result." Celtic have bolstered their squad with the signings of midfielder Mika Baur and winger Haissem Hassan, after the arrivals of forwards Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran earlier this summer. "Celtic have been the best team in the country for a number of years now," Goodwin said. "You can see the investment that they've made in their squad during this summer window. "I think they're touching nearly £40million spend so that gives you an indication as to the quality that we're going to face tomorrow. "But we showed last year [by beating Celtic 2-0], if we get the game plan right and if the players perform to the levels that they're capable of, then anything can happen, and that has to be the mindset going to the game."