Jim Goodwin puts Dundee United goalkeeper transfer on hold amid Mark Birighitti resurgence as American deal swerved

Jim Goodwin has hailed the resurgence of Dundee United keeper Mark Birighitti.

The Australian had come under-fire for some below-par performances and a high-profile blunder that saw him lose his No.1 slot. But Goodwin’s arrival has given him a new lease of life and the new boss has been happy with the keeper. United had handed a trial to former US international Bill Hamid.

But Goodwin said: “Bill flew to Scotland, we had a good chat but in the end I decided not to pursue that one. And I have to say, I’ve been very happy with Mark in the last couple of games. I know he has come in for some criticism in recent weeks but his reaction since I came in has been excellent. He has looked fairly assured in the games we’ve played. I couldn’t point the finger at him over any of the goals we’ve conceded.

“Much like every other player out there, confidence plays a part. With Mark, it’s a case of getting that self-belief back and realising he’s a very good keeper when he’s on his game. You could say that about a number of players in the squad, so that’s been the message to him and to a number of others. And we’ve seen a positive reaction from them all.”

United are fighting for their Premiership lives as they look to get off the bottom of the table with a victory over Goodwin’s old team St Mirren on Saturday. There are concerns that playmaker Dylan Levitt’s season could be over and he won’t be involved in the relegation fight. Goodwin is hoping for some clarity on the Welsh star’s situation this week.

He said: “I wouldn’t like to speculate in terms of how it’s going to be, Dylan is in a leg brace, he tweaked his knee in the game against Aberdeen. It was quite innocuous really, it wasn’t a heavy tackle or anything.

“If people are