Celtic is the best team in Scotland by a country mile, says Jim Goodwin

The Celtic Star

·27 aprile 2025

Celtic is the best team in Scotland by a country mile, says Jim Goodwin

Jim Goodwin was magnanimous in defeat as he watched his Dundee United side succumb to a hefty defeat at the hands of Scottish Premiership 4IAR Champions, Celtic…

Jim Goodwin. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

The Irishman would have been eager to pitt his wits against his countryman Brendan Rodgers, who he managed to frustrate and contain last time the Hoops visited Tannadice just before Christmas, earning a 0-0 draw against a shot-shy Celtic that day.

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Rodgers himself would have been itching to correct that mis-step in Dundee on 23 December, by reasserting why he is the best manager in the country with the best team to boot. Well that’s exactly what happened on this occasion, as once an opening own goal from Ryan Strain opened the floodgates for the Bhoys, Goodwin’s men struggled to get them shut for the entire 90 minutes, losing another four goals after that initial mistake from his defender.

🗣️ "Congratulations to Brendan & to Celtic, they've been the best team by a country mile" Jim Goodwin reacts to Dundee United's 5-0 home defeat ⤵️
– sabato 26 aprile 2025

Jim Goodwin’s personal pride had taken a hammering

The United gaffer admitted after the match that personal pride had taken a hammering today for him and his players, yet he can’t be too harsh on them as they knew what was at stake for Rodgers and his team in the City of Discovery.

“We’re a bit embarrassed with the way the scoreline looks,” he said to Sky Sports. “Myself and the players have personal pride and nobody likes to be on the end of a result like that. I take responsibility as manager because I asked the team to play in a certain way.

Nicolas Kuhn celebrates. Celtic Champions 2025. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star).

“You could argue we should have managed the game better at 2-0 but they scored in added time in the first half then two minutes into the second. At that point it was damage limitation for us. Look, I’m not going to be overly critical of the players. We’re disappointed, of course. But this group has put us in a really good position.

“We could have probably done with this one once the title was already wrapped up”

“We’ve fought very hard to make the top six and we’re very much in the fight for third place. We can’t dwell on this one, we have to pick ourselves up. It can’t detract from what’s been a good season. We knew it was going to be a difficult task today given what was on the line for Celtic. We’ve been unfortunate with the fixtures, we could have probably done with this one once the title was already wrapped up,” Goodwin added.

Jim Goodwin looks on. Celtic Champions 2025. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star).

Despite the final result, the man who got the Tangerines promoted to the Scottish Premiership this year reckons they were well in it for the first half-an-hour but Celtic’s pace on the counter-attack absolutely devastated them.

“It sounds bizarre but for half an hour I thought we were very good,” Goodwin confessed. “The shape was good, we were aggressive in the press and forced Celtic into playing longer than they normally would. But the first goal was a kick in the teeth, given that it’s an own goal. It was a misfortune. And the second one comes from our promising attack.

The Celtic Board. Celtic Champions 2025. Dundee United v Celtic, 26 April 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star).

“With the pace Celtic have on the counter attack, it ends up in the back of our net. “We came up against the best team in the country and when Celtic play like they did the last hour, they can do that to any team. Congratulations to Brendan and his team, they’ve been the best team by a country mile. But we can’t afford to let our season peter out.”

Paul Gillespie

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