Tannadice caretaker manager Peter Houston popped down to Easter Road  on Sunday and was impressed by Rangers' performance against Hibs. However, he insists his team will travel to Ibrox today free of fear, apart from about the road conditions!. United's last meeting with Rangers ended in a 3-0 loss in the re-arranged fixture at Tannadice so Houston is keen that his players make amends for that defeat. Houston has the chance to make the temporary post his on a permanent basis if he delivers the right kind of results and performances over the next few weeks. United are understood to have him at the top of their list but Houston has refused to tout himself for the position. He is focused is on the job in hand and he senses his team are ready to pull off a shock result in Glasgow.

He said: "I went to the Rangers game on Sunday and was impressed by them. They are full of confidence and are scoring goals for fun. But that doesn't frighten us. There is a lot more to come from our boys. We've dipped a bit in the last few weeks and I don't think we've been at our best. We struggled a bit against St Mirren before getting the goal to win the game. Against Hearts, if we were anywhere near our best we would have won that match and then everyone knows what happened when Rangers came to Tannadice. Rangers were very good that night but, having looked back at the video, we were nowhere near what we can be. So the challenge for the players is to recapture the level of performance we showed earlier in the season. Last weekend, we created a lot of chances without scoring to win the game and on another day we would have got the full points. But that's gone now and you can only influence the future. I have to say, I felt a wee spark come back to the training on Monday. We had to train indoors but the lads were really buzzing and I can sense a feeling among them that they want to make up for the defeat against Rangers earlier in the month. Having Morgaro Gomis back will help because he's a big player for us. If we play to our capabilities then I'm sure we will give Rangers a decent game."

Under the terms of his loan from Rangers, United will be without Andy Webster, but Gomis returns after suspension. Darren Dods will replace Webster, while youngster Craig Hill has flown in from Northern Ireland to warm the bench. Houston said: "Andy Webster is not available because it's Rangers and Scott Robertson is missing. But we knew Webby wouldn't be there so big Darren Dods will come back into the team. I've also recalled Craig Hill, who is a young centre-half, from his Christmas holiday to come and sit on the bench."