John Hughes remains happy for his Inverness side to remain under the radar.

The Highlanders are unbeaten in nine games this year and sit in third place in the Premiership, eight points behind leaders Celtic and five behind Aberdeen.

The 3-3 home draw with Kilmarnock on Saturday moved Caley on to 52 points, just five less than last season's total when they finished in fifth place.

Victory over Dundee United at Tannadice tonight will take them eight points clear of the Scottish League Cup finalists and strengthen their bid for a European spot.

However, the Inverness boss played down what has so far been a fine, if understated, league campaign.

"Trust me, if there is going to be a challenge to Celtic it is going to come from Dundee United or Aberdeen," said Hughes.

"We are just a small provincial club up here in the Highlands, possibly punching well above our weight. There are always targets here, individually and collectively.

"But we are at our best when we have the siege mentality, the underdog mentality. These guys don't get too much praise and they love to prove people wrong and hopefully that will be the case for the rest of the season."

Hughes is hoping his side tighten up defensively from the weekend when they surrendered the lead three times.

The former Hibernian and Falkirk boss said: "We will prepare to give the team the best opportunity to win the match. But we have to be a bit better defensively than we were against Kilmarnock, that's for sure.

"I was disappointed with the goals we lost. Having scored three goals at home you should win the football match. But I can't be too critical, the boys have been outstanding and we could have won the game.

"Jackie (McNamara) has done a wonderful job at Dundee United. He has a lot of trust and faith in the youths and Tannadice is always a nice venue to go to, so I am looking forward to it."