Jim Goodwin reveals Hearts fan 'anxiety' helped Dundee Utd cause but boss defends Steven Naismith from furious punters

Jim Goodwin admits sitting third in the Premiership is more than even he could have dreamed of for Dundee United heading into the first international break.

The unbeaten Tannadice men made it eight points from four games with a deserved victory at Tynecastle against Hearts thanks to Ross Graham’s second half winner. The newly-promoted side have kept three clean sheets in their last three outings. And Goodwin admitted his side fed off the nerves around Tynecastle.

He said: “We sensed that bit of anxiety coming in from the supporters after about half an hour. I don't think they had any real clear-cut chances. If I look at the dangerous attacks in the game, I actually think we probably had more than what Hearts did. So it's a great win. It keeps the unbeaten run going for us. And going into the international break sitting third on the table is probably more than any of us would have dreamed for.

“Obviously a newly promoted team, you're not sure how it's going to go. We've had a very busy summer in the transfer market. We've signed 13 new players.

“You're always a little bit wary in terms of how long it takes some of the international players to adapt to Scottish football and how they're going to acclimatise to the different culture and what have you. But credit to the players, they've settled in so quickly. I think that's credit to the people behind the scenes at Dundee United as well.

“They've in this short period of time seemed to have built up a great camaraderie within the group and a great team spirit. That can take you a long way and I think that's the reason why we won the game today. It'll be nice to look at the table this evening, sitting third, going into the international break.”

Centre half Graham struck the