Dave Narey was one of the most talented and versatile defenders of his time and could play anywhere in the back four. He could also operate in midfield, which he did on many occasions for Scotland, and he started his United career in this area of the team. From 1979 onwards he formed a formidable partnership with Paul Hegarty at the heart of the defence and it was this pairing which was fundamental to the success of Dundee United for over a decade. Although both were capped many times for their country it's a curious fact that they only played twice together for Scotland; in 1979 against Argentina and four years later against Northern Ireland.

The Narey approach was to go about his job with the minimum of fuss which sometimes led him to be underrated by opposition fans who only saw him once or twice a season, but he was certainly not underrated by teammates, opponents or United fans. His individualistic style truly set him aside as a player of distinction. His efforts and energy were always contained, unfluried and unflamboyant but he had great pace and athleticism when required, unerringly accurate distribution skills and his unrivaled reading of the game and positional play contributed to many perfectly timed interventions. For 22 years, in 866 games, he consistently applied these talents for the benefit of Dundee United and was described by the distinguished commentator Bob Crampsey as "a thinking player in a thinking team." He was certainly widely regarded as the outstanding talent in United's greatest-ever side.

Hugely gifted, yet completely unassuming, he was called a model professional and a manager's dream. In fact he had only two managers in twenty-two years and apart from his last season when he played under Ivan Golac his Tannadice career virtually coincided with the managerial career of the Club's greatest manager, Jim McLean, who had joined United just a few weeks before Dave Narey signed in January 1972.

Within a few months of signing for United Dave had joined the ground staff but continued to play for St. Columba's Boys Club in Dundee. On his seventeenth birthday he became a professional footballer, three months later he made his first team debut and such was his progress that by the end of his first season he was listed at number 15 in the squad which represented United in the Club's first ever Scottish Cup Final on 4 May 1974.

The atmosphere generated by the 75,959 who watched the 1974 Scottish Cup Final made a stark contrast to the crowd of only 1,250 who saw Dave Narey make his first team debut in a 2-1 win over Falkirk on 21 November 1973. The poor attendance, reputedly the lowest at Tannadice since the War, was caused by the match having to be played on a Wednesday afternoon due to a Government floodlights ban which was prompted by a miners strike at the time.

It was hardly an auspicious start for the greatest-ever Dundee United career which began with Dave being mainly selected in midfield and this more forward role accounts for his greater scoring record in the early part of his career.

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