Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara has played down the prospect of bringing a Scottish Premiership title to Tannadice this season.
United beat Hamilton Academical 3-2 on Monday to move third in the table - one point behind second-placed Celtic and five adrift of leaders Aberdeen.
Asked if his side could consider themselves genuine contenders, McNamara told Sky Sports News: "Not at this moment, no. We aren't good enough away from home in terms of clean sheets.
"There are a lot of things we need to work on defensively first. We are the top scorers in the league, we scored three tonight and could have got a few more but on the other side we have to be more stingy at the back.
"Can we be title contenders one day? That remains to be seen but my goal is to get them to believe they can be."
It has been 30 years since any team outside of Celtic or Rangers has won the division, with Aberdeen last winning Scotland's top flight in the 1984-85 campaign.
Shane Callaghan
