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One win in 10 games and no wins in six – but just how worried should Dundee United fans be about their team’s current run of form?

Following defeat at St Mirren last Saturday, manager Jim Goodwin conceded his side are “going through a really difficult period” at present.

After an impressive fourth-placed finish on their return to the Scottish Premiership last term, a new-look squad started this campaign with promising displays.

But early-season optimism has turned to dread that the Tannadice club could be dragged into another scrap at the wrong end of the table.

Runs of form like the one United are currently enduring will naturally trigger fear among the support.

However, they remain eight points of the foot of the table and have a four-point cushion between themselves and city rivals Dundee in 11th.

It is certainly not the time to be hitting any panic buttons. In a congested top flight, the complexion of United’s season could again change quickly.

Had Goodwin’s side not conceded a 98th-minute penalty to draw 2-2 with Rangers last week, you would not be reading this right now.

“The only way out of it is for us to stick together,” former Aberdeen boss Goodwin told BBC Scotland on Saturday. “We deserve all the criticism that comes our way.”

That criticism has intensified over the course of United’s current six-game winless run that includes a 3-0 home loss to Premiership newcomers Falkirk.

Goodwin’s defence has looked vulnerable, failing to keep a clean sheet in their past 10 matches, and the shaky form of goalkeeper Yevhen Kucherenko, who has come out of the team since a calamitous display in that defeat by Falkirk, has not helped.

“They are finding it difficult to replicate the form they had last season and a lot of it is down to the defending,” said Sportscene host and former United forward Steven Thompson.

There have been calls from some fans for Goodwin to steer away from his back three set-up, which has featured Krisztian Keresztes, Iurie Iovu and Bert Esselink for almost all of this season.

On a per-90 basis, Keresztes and Iovu rank high for blocks, with the former also high for clearances, but that suggests they are having to do too much defending.

The fact only Dundee and Falkirk’s goalkeepers are tested more would also imply that, so there is work to do to tighten United up out of possession.

Their underlying numbers when it comes to goals per game and expected goals (xG) suggest they are not in a false position of eighth in the Premiership table.

It is the same story for their goals-against-per-game average and their xG against tally.

They also rank eighth for big chance creation and seventh for touches in the opposition box.

Summer signings Zach Sapsford and Ivan Dolcek have shown encouraging signs, but the form of the latter has fallen off sharply after an impressive start.

Jenny: Goodwin should have the next few matches to turn it round. If he doesn’t it’s time for United to look elsewhere. Almost any other manager in the Premiership could do more with some of the players he has.

Kieran: Goodwin is on borrowed time now and games coming up are not getting easier. St Mirren didn’t need to do anything special to get their goals – our season so far has a whiff of deja vu from 2022.

Philip: Goodwin has to go now before we get dragged into a relegation battle. No width, no pace. A striker with nice touches but offers nothing inside the box. Ryan Strain is not a wing-back. I think Ferry has gone backwards or carrying an injury. Goodwin out.

Great Britain’s Zoe Atkin narrowly missed out on gold as she took silver at the freeski halfpipe World Cup event in China.

The 22-year-old was top of the standings after a first run score of 90.25 in the final compared to Chinese rival Eileen Gu, who registered 85.25.

However, Gu produced an impressive second run to take victory with a 91.75 run, while Atkin did not improve with her second attempt.

The result gave Atkin, who shared the overall World Cup title with China’s Li Fanghui in the women’s halfpipe last season, her 11th World Cup podium finish.

England have left their Ashes break in Noosa and will resume training on Sunday before the crucial third Test in Adelaide.

The tourists, who must win at the Adelaide Oval to keep their hopes of regaining the urn alive, flew from Brisbane on Saturday.

England spent four nights in the beach town of Noosa, a trip that was planned well ahead of the series and not altered despite defeats in the opening two Tests.

Captain Ben Stokes’ men attracted plenty of attention during their time on the Sunshine Coast.

They were pictured in bars, playing golf and on the beach. The England squad were happy to interact with locals and media alike – Stokes even posed with two radio presenters dressed in full whites carrying signs that read: “For sale – moral victories” and “Bazballers anonymous – free counselling”.

Australian newspapers have paid close attention to England’s downtime. The Brisbane Courier Mail claimed England are “not even trying anymore”, the Advertiser from Adelaide labelled the tourists “rub a dub duds” and Sydney’s Daily Telegraph carried the headline “Surfed and Turfed”.

Former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie told ABC radio: “The tourism commission will be licking their lips. It’s been Noosa, Noosa, Noosa.

“There’s been a lot of criticism about the England team having a break. I don’t have a problem with it. I think it’s absolutely fair and reasonable.”

England’s decision to take the break in Noosa has continued the debate around their preparation and training on the tour of Australia.

Billed as a huge opportunity for England to earn a rare win down under and the most anticipated Ashes for a generation, this series is at risk of being over at the earliest opportunity.

Defeat in the second Test in Brisbane extended England’s winless run in Australia to 17 Tests, dating back to their last series win here in 2010-11. If they do not win in Adelaide, this will be the fourth consecutive Ashes down under that the destination of the urn will have been settled inside three matches.

England were criticised for playing only one warm-up match before the first Test – a three-day match against the second-string England Lions.

The decision not to send any players from the first Test XI to join a Lions pink-ball match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra also came under scrutiny.

“Where questioning comes of England is choosing not to get practice in Canberra under lights against the PM’s XI, then training in Brisbane and they lost that game,” said Gillespie.

“The messaging out of the England camp could have been better. Saying ‘we’ve overprepared’ for a Test – everyone would argue no. They had a great opportunity to prepare under lights with a pink ball and they chose not to because they felt it would not simulate conditions in Brisbane.

“Where was that excuse before the first Test in Perth, when they played on a low, slow wicket at Lilac Hill before a fast, bouncy wicket at Perth Stadium? The contradictory messaging coming out of the England camp has opened them up for criticism.”

McCullum is due to speak to the media on Sunday as England begin three days of training before the third Test starts on Wednesday (23:30 GMT on Tuesday).

England’s Sunday training session could provide clues to possible changes to their XI for the first red-ball Ashes Test in Adelaide since 2013 – the two since then have been day-night matches played with a pink ball.

A freshen up of the pace attack seems likely, with Josh Tongue replacing Gus Atkinson as one option.

With spin likely to play a role in Adelaide, England have a decision to make over Shoaib Bashir.

Bashir has been overlooked for the first two Tests while England opted for the all-round skills of Will Jacks in Brisbane, albeit with Stokes maintaining Bashir remains the number one spinner.

Bashir has been backed by England with this series in mind, yet has struggled so far, picking up two wickets in his two tour matches. Whoever the tourists pick, they will have a significant experience disadvantage compared to Australia veteran Nathan Lyon, himself due to return after being left out in Brisbane.

The visitors may also ponder replacing Ollie Pope at number three. Pope’s position has been a long-term source of scrutiny since Jacob Bethell made his Test debut in New Zealand a year ago.

Pope’s highest score in this series is 46. He had played 14 innings against Australia without passing 50.

Though Bethell’s career has stalled since that New Zealand tour – the 22-year-old is still to make a first-class century – he made 71 for the Lions against Australia A last weekend.

Despite their 2-0 lead, Australia will also make changes for Adelaide. Captain Pat Cummins will return after missing the first two Tests with a back injury.

To make room for Cummins and Lyon, the hosts look likely to omit Brendan Doggett, then one of his fellow seamers – Scott Boland or Michael Neser.

Australia must also decide on opener Usman Khawaja, who missed the second Test with a back injury.