MATCH REPORT | A PROMOTION PARTY AT TANNADICE
4th May 2024
In an exclusive article for the enewsletter and website, Manager Ian McCall looks forward to the new season and emphasises the importance of the fans in the campaign ahead.
The Manager has enjoyed a less frenetic close season than last year, when no fewer than ten new players arrived in a massive shake up of the Club. Major surgery was required to revive an underperforming side and the Manager, backed by the Chairman, wasted no time and effort in this task. No one can deny that the operation was a complete success. With a top five position achieved and some genuinely exciting football played, especially at home, it felt good to be a Dundee United supporter again. For the first time in a long time, there was an air of optimism and expectation around Tannadice.
While four players have left the Club in the close season, there has been no need to repeat the frantic activity of last season, with the bulk of the first team squad intact. Striker James Grady has joined from Partick Thistle and has already served notice that he will be an important part of the team - and a firm favourite with the fans. The return of a fit Scott Paterson, who missed virtually all of last season, will provide additional defensive cover and Stephen O'Donnell has returned from a loan spell at Ross County. A number of highly promising youngsters are also poised to make a first team breakthrough.
The air of optimism remains and the Manager is clearly looking forward to the new season. He told us, "It has been completely different this time around compared to last summer. There was a bit of turmoil due to all the changes but they were necessary to make the Club progress. However I made it clear at the time that I would not want to go through that again and am pleased that we do not need to."
Despite losing four players, the Manager believes that the size of the squad is not far away from his ideal. "I don't need a huge squad, a first team squad of 19 or 20, including good reserves, is probably a more practical size, especially given the financial constraints affecting all of Scottish football. We all have to cut our cloth accordingly and I think everybody understands that. We are maybe a couple short of that ideal figure and are working on this at the moment. I know that finances are tight, but I have had tremendous backing from the Chairman and the Board and know they will support me if the funding can be found.
However, I am more than satisfied with the quality of the squad. We have players who will benefit from a full year's experience in the premier-league. Mark Kerr, Barry Robson, Mark Wilson and Jason Scotland will all be better for this experience. David McCracken and Stuart Duff have also grown in confidence and in Chris Innes and Alan Archibald we had two of the most consistent defenders in Scotland last term. Going forward we look a very exciting side and have a number of options up front which I'm sure will cause problems for opposition defences. We have a lot to look forward to and I'm excited about the challenges ahead. We want to do as well, if not better than last season. We can't assume this of course, but the target first of all has to be top six, and then better if possible. I'd also like to do better in the cup competitions and, who knows, start to think about European football again."
Turning to the support of the fans, Ian added "I said last year that we wanted to turn Tannadice into a "fortress" again. It took a while but no one can deny that our home form was a huge factor in our overall progress. It is always hard to reproduce that but we will try. This is where the help and support of the fans is vital. Sometimes, this support can be underestimated. Believe me, both myself and the players respond to the atmosphere that they create and this can be hugely influential on the performance and the result. I've said before that we're all in this together, as we try to turn the Club around. The Board have played their part in providing the backing to improve the team and I think the fans can see the part that we, the management and players, are doing on the park. We need the fans to play their part as well. We have no divine right to expect this of course, but the fans were great last year and I hope they back us in the same way again this year."
"Season ticket sales are of course important to any new signings and I would urge anyone who has not yet renewed to do so now. Extra funding from this source could make all the difference to getting a new player in."
"We have big games coming up and the full backing of the fans is vital to the players, and myself. For our part, we will try to repay this support by providing the fans with good attacking football, exciting games and a steady process of improvement. I want fans to enjoy coming to Tannadice and leaving happy!"
The Manager has enjoyed a less frenetic close season than last year, when no fewer than ten new players arrived in a massive shake up of the Club. Major surgery was required to revive an underperforming side and the Manager, backed by the Chairman, wasted no time and effort in this task. No one can deny that the operation was a complete success. With a top five position achieved and some genuinely exciting football played, especially at home, it felt good to be a Dundee United supporter again. For the first time in a long time, there was an air of optimism and expectation around Tannadice.
While four players have left the Club in the close season, there has been no need to repeat the frantic activity of last season, with the bulk of the first team squad intact. Striker James Grady has joined from Partick Thistle and has already served notice that he will be an important part of the team - and a firm favourite with the fans. The return of a fit Scott Paterson, who missed virtually all of last season, will provide additional defensive cover and Stephen O'Donnell has returned from a loan spell at Ross County. A number of highly promising youngsters are also poised to make a first team breakthrough.
The air of optimism remains and the Manager is clearly looking forward to the new season. He told us, "It has been completely different this time around compared to last summer. There was a bit of turmoil due to all the changes but they were necessary to make the Club progress. However I made it clear at the time that I would not want to go through that again and am pleased that we do not need to."
Despite losing four players, the Manager believes that the size of the squad is not far away from his ideal. "I don't need a huge squad, a first team squad of 19 or 20, including good reserves, is probably a more practical size, especially given the financial constraints affecting all of Scottish football. We all have to cut our cloth accordingly and I think everybody understands that. We are maybe a couple short of that ideal figure and are working on this at the moment. I know that finances are tight, but I have had tremendous backing from the Chairman and the Board and know they will support me if the funding can be found.
However, I am more than satisfied with the quality of the squad. We have players who will benefit from a full year's experience in the premier-league. Mark Kerr, Barry Robson, Mark Wilson and Jason Scotland will all be better for this experience. David McCracken and Stuart Duff have also grown in confidence and in Chris Innes and Alan Archibald we had two of the most consistent defenders in Scotland last term. Going forward we look a very exciting side and have a number of options up front which I'm sure will cause problems for opposition defences. We have a lot to look forward to and I'm excited about the challenges ahead. We want to do as well, if not better than last season. We can't assume this of course, but the target first of all has to be top six, and then better if possible. I'd also like to do better in the cup competitions and, who knows, start to think about European football again."
Turning to the support of the fans, Ian added "I said last year that we wanted to turn Tannadice into a "fortress" again. It took a while but no one can deny that our home form was a huge factor in our overall progress. It is always hard to reproduce that but we will try. This is where the help and support of the fans is vital. Sometimes, this support can be underestimated. Believe me, both myself and the players respond to the atmosphere that they create and this can be hugely influential on the performance and the result. I've said before that we're all in this together, as we try to turn the Club around. The Board have played their part in providing the backing to improve the team and I think the fans can see the part that we, the management and players, are doing on the park. We need the fans to play their part as well. We have no divine right to expect this of course, but the fans were great last year and I hope they back us in the same way again this year."
"Season ticket sales are of course important to any new signings and I would urge anyone who has not yet renewed to do so now. Extra funding from this source could make all the difference to getting a new player in."
"We have big games coming up and the full backing of the fans is vital to the players, and myself. For our part, we will try to repay this support by providing the fans with good attacking football, exciting games and a steady process of improvement. I want fans to enjoy coming to Tannadice and leaving happy!"
