Charlie Mulgrew puts coaching plans on hold to aid Dundee Utd’s relegation fight

Charlie Mulgrew is putting his fledgling coaching career on hold to help Dundee United retain their cinch Premiership status.

It was announced last November that the 37-year-old defender would combine playing for the Tannadice outfit with a coaching role as part of Liam Fox’s management team.

However, when Jim Goodwin took over from Fox on a short-term basis on March 1, he told Mulgrew that his efforts would be best focused on the pitch as United try to avoid the drop.

The former Celtic, Aberdeen and Blackburn player returned from injury at the weekend to help the Terrors to a 2-1 win over Hibernian at Tannadice, the first victory of Goodwin’s tenure on Tayside.

However, they remain two points behind second-bottom Ross County with seven fixtures remaining, with the Staggies hosting Aberdeen on Friday night.

Ahead of the trip to in-form Motherwell on Saturday, Mulgrew said: “I am focused on playing.

“When the manager came in that was something he wanted me to do, focus on that side of the game, and I completely understood that and totally agreed with him.

“With the situation we are in, it is best I focus on playing and knuckle down and think about that. And I have enjoyed that, focusing on playing and being a leader in this team.

“The next seven games is where my focus is and I will give everything for that, keeping this club in the division, and we will see where we are in the summer.

“It (coaching) is definitely something I want to go into in the future. It’s something that I’m really interested in, something that I have long-term plans in my mind, but the best thing now is to focus on playing rather than one foot in both.

“I will give 100 per cent as a player and the future will take care of itself.”

Mulgrew wants United to build on the boost given by their first win in 11 matches in all competitions.

He said: “We take confidence from the Hibs game. In my experience of playing and being in the game, the atmosphere in a club is so much better the week after a good result. It brings confidence to the place.

“When you are on a long run without winning, there are some really low points. There has been this season and you take it home with you and it lasts for days. To get that win, it lifts the confidence and it was a huge relief.

“We have waited long enough for it so hopefully we can get a few now. We just have to look to the next game and try to pick up points again. We have difficult games coming up but we have shown we can win games.”