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.

With three straight home games against Motherwell, Celtic and Hibernian on the way, BBC Scotland analyses the severity of their current predicament. Runs of form like the one United are currently enduring will naturally trigger fear among the support. However, they remain eight points off 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. "They look fragile and they are gifting goals to teams." 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. The attacking duo were part of a bold summer transfer strategy that excited fans in the infancy of the campaign, but they are now starting to ask questions.

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.

Gary: Pathetic. You cannot be this inconsistent week in, week out. The system Goodwin is sticking to doesn't work either. The three at the back needs changing to a solid back four - 4-4-2 or 4-3-3. Ditch this obsession with the back three.