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When Birighitti, 31, joined the Tangerines from Central Coast Mariners last July, the two-time A-League goalkeeper of the year was thinking more in terms of a European qualification surge than a fraught battle to avoid the drop.

But two changes of coach later, and off the back of eight defeats from their last 10 games, Jim Goodwin’s side is six points from safety and seemingly super-glued to the foot of the table with eight games left.

That looming tally includes three regular season games, and five more when the bottom six all clash as the league splits in two for the final six rounds. After all that the club dead last is demoted while second bottom faces a promotion-relegation playoff.

Whichever way you cut it, Birighitti, who has started 20 of the Tannadice club’s 30 games so far, acknowledges a swift revival is required to prevent United from plummeting back to the Championship after 2020’s promotion to the top division.

It’s uncharted territory for Birighitti, who’s never been involved in a relegation rumble his entire career.

While he admits tensions are running hot he’s also adamant that belief remains buoyant. “There’s no shying away from it - we have a bit of an uphill battle on our hands right now,” he said. “But despite the results and where we’re sitting on the table the boys are still pretty upbeat and confident.

“It’s important we stick together as a playing group and fight our way out of this scrap that we’re in.

“Not only us but people on the outside look at our squad and they say ‘this isn’t a position you should not be in considering the squad you have’.”

The aforementioned squad includes Socceroos left-back Aziz Behich, and it’s difficult to envision either he or Birighitti remaining in situ should the club suffer its second relegation in seven years.

“It’s coming to crunch time now where we need to start picking up points and wins,” Birighitti said. “There are still a lot of points up for grabs, but we’ve been saying this for months now. Recent performances (most recent was the 2-0 loss against Rangers) show we’re improving but time is running out.

“There were positives to take out of the game at Ibrox - for most of the game our defensive shape was solid but they scored two very good goals.

“The week before against St Mirren we go 1-0 up and then they get a penalty at the end, which wasn’t a penalty, so kind of everything is going against us at the moment. We need to turn these things around.”

The arrival of Goodwin last month, after his sacking by Aberdeen in January, might not have gone down too well with fan groups. But Birighitti believes he can lead the club to safety, despite picking up just two points from a possible 12 since his arrival. “Jim’s absolutely fantastic … he’s been working really hard with us and he has great ideas,” said Birighitti ahead of Sunday’s clash against Hibernian. “He’s given me that belief and confidence and it’s up to me to repay him and play my part for the team.”

Just as the Tangerines have toiled, Birighitti has endured his own tribulations. He was banished to the bench after his August debut ended in a crushing 7-0 European Conference League defeat against AZ Alkmaar.

Birighitti was back in favour in October but found himself in blunder-land come February with a blooper leading to St Johnstone’s second goal in 2-1 home loss. To make matters worse, he suffered a shoulder injury trying to dribble the ball out under pressure.

However, Birighitti bounced back strongly to shrug aside the injury - not to mention injured pride - and regain the top spot.

“I’ve certainly had a few ups and downs but right now I’m finding my rhythm and form at such an important time of the year,” he said.

“I just need to help the team as much as possible. If we can all chip in another 10 or 15 per cent extra, whether it’s up front or at the back, then I don’t think we’ll have any problems.

“At the start of the season we had 12 new players come in and it takes time to gel. We do have some unbelievable individuals in the team but for some reason it just hasn’t clicked and hopefully these next eight games something can change.

“We don’t want to even think (about going down), we have eight cup finals ahead of us. I haven’t even thought about what happens come the end of the season, I’m focusing on match to match.

“I’ve never been in this position - but I’m a strong person and strong character and all I want to do is put in some performances that benefit the club.”