A FOOTBALLER’S life can’t always be about lifting trophies and waving from open-top buses. Even the negative experiences, however, can be stored away to be called upon during more difficult times. Ryan McGowan hopes that is the case. The Australian is part of a Dundee United side toiling away to little effect at the foot of the SPFL Premiership and knocked out of the League Cup by a rampant Hibernian side on Wednesday night.

For the majority of a youthful squad more accustomed to parading their talents at the other end of the division, this is a new and not particularly nice experience. They will not be given a lot of time either in which to adjust, not by new manager Mixu Paatelainen, nor by the United supporters or the opposition. The learning curve will be steep.

McGowan, though, has been in this movie before. In the infancy of his professional career, the 26 year-old was sent to learn his trade with Ayr United in the first division. It was an eye-opening loan spell and one spent primarily at the wrong end of the table. Ayr would be relegated come the end of that campaign, not the sort of entry the then midfielder wanted adoring his cv. He hopes the experiences of that year, however, will serve him well in this year’s struggle with United.

“I had a spell on loan at Ayr and we were relegated that season,” he revealed. “So I’ve seen both sides of the game. I’ve been down the bottom when I was younger, and then I’ve won the cup and played in finals and semis. For a lot of out younger players this is maybe the first time they’ve been in this position and they’re going to have to grow up quickly. And we as senior players are going to have to take more responsibility to get us out of the mess we’re in.

“That time at Ayr was a great experience for me. Sometimes there were games you just couldn’t afford to lose so you couldn’t always play the pretty football. You had to grind out results. We did that last weekend against Ross County we but we need to do it every week.

“I think we need to learn how to do the dirty stuff. You have to earn the right to play your football. That comes through hard work, getting the better of your opponent, and basic stuff like that. We need to get to that level quickly. And when the game opens up in the last 20 minutes it’s then that you can play a bit more expansively and express yourself a bit more. I need to look at myself in the mirror, as does everyone at the club. We just have to concentrate on the league now and if we can get a good result on Saturday it can change things quicker.”

Just how to arrest United’s alarming slump, however, is not quite as easy to figure out. “If I knew what it was then I guess I could be the gaffer and change things around! There’s no excuses for lack of effort, not being aggressive enough or not trying hard enough. I think that’s a given every time you play. At the moment we need to find a way to win. Last weekend we did that, we battled hard in a very difficult game and we need to do that again on Saturday against Aberdeen.

“We’ll go up there with our gameplan and we’ll try to execute it as the gaffer wants. Aberdeen are on a bad run too so if we can keep it tight and stay in the game then we’ll have every chance. “