MATCH REPORT | A PROMOTION PARTY AT TANNADICE
4th May 2024
Dundee United striker Louis Moult admits his scintillating start to life on Tayside has rekindled his love for the game, but he won’t be satisfied until the Terrors raise the cinch Championship trophy aloft at the end of the season.
Watch Louis' press conference from the DUFC Training Centre in full below!
Hitting the Ground Running
Moult arrived at Tannadice in July with the remit of being Jim Goodwin’s talisman for a second-tier title charge. Off the back of an injury-plagued three years south of the border, eyebrows were raised around Scottish football as United put their faith in the 31-year-old.
However, Moult wasted no time in silencing his doubters, providing no fewer than three assists during our Gayfield blitz on Matchday One, whilst also grabbing our fourth goal on the stroke of half-time.
“I’m really enjoying myself. I think I’ve settled in pretty quickly and everyone around the place has made it so much easier for me and my family to adapt to living up here. Scoring goals and winning games alongside that helps massively.
“I went that period without games and goals but with regular game time I will score goals. I’m proving that and the main thing is I stay on the pitch and we keep winning games - I’m confident in my own ability."
Our number nine scooped the MKM Player of the Month award for his rich vein of form throughout the opening month of the 2023/24 campaign, finishing August with two goals and three assists to his name. Statistically, it's the frontman's best start to a season in a decade.
“Being here has massively reignited my passion for the game - I think you see that in my performances. I’ve got that hunger back. I don’t need to tell you I have it back you can see it in the expressions on my face when I’m playing!
Setting them up and tucking them away ?
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) September 1, 2023
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“The main reason for that is enjoyment and belief from the Gaffer, the football club and the lads."
According to Moult, his Tannadice success to date is partly due to his meticulous preparation for each match, as he mentally keeps a handle on the pressure cooker of professional football.
“The mental side is huge. A little part of football is self-talk, in my career anyway. What I’ve always tried to do is speak to myself regularly. For example, I’ll demand more from myself when I haven’t trained as well as I should have and the next day I make sure I’m right on it.
“On match day I’m very particular with my routines - everything has to be right. If you let yourself slack off even just a little bit you might not be fully focused and that’s huge as a footballer."
Tangerine Expectancy
Handling the anticipation of an expectant United contingent week-in-week-out can be taxing, however, it's an experience the frontman is well-versed in. Harking back to a goal-laden spell with Wrexham, he compared the demands at the Racecourse to those at Tannadice.
“Previously, when I was at Motherwell, we were an underdog in the Premiership. It was a little bit different. The way I liken it to was when I was at Wrexham many years ago, but they were the biggest team in the league and it was a similar expectation.
“That’s helped me as an individual at Dundee United. We were getting big crowds and going to lesser grounds, no disrespect to the other teams in the league, but it’s similar here."
The only blot on United's Championship copybook so far this season came on Matchday Two, when a resolute Dunfermline Athletic held Goodwin's side to a frustrating 1-1 draw in the city of Discovery, and Moult shared the supporters' angst.
“You take it back a couple of weeks to our draw with Dunfermline and we were very disappointed with it. That's exactly how it should be. We’re at home - we should win the game. That is the pride we take knowing the expectations of the football club.
“We have to go out there believing we can win every game. Up to now, we’ve been fantastic, we’ve just got to keep that mental strength up."
"I’ve Come Here To Win This League"
Despite reaching cup finals with Nuneaton Borough and Motherwell, the Englishman is yet to taste silverware in his senior career, and he confesses chasing the cinch Championship trophy was a major carrot which lured him to Tannadice.
A defiant Moult stated: “I’m here to achieve something this season. I haven’t come back up the road to make the numbers up - I’ve come here to win this league. When I retire, I can look back on it and say ‘we achieved that.’
“As individuals, we have to take care of our performances on and off the pitch. We don’t carried away win when we win and we don’t get too down when we don’t get the results we want. We stay level-headed and confident - but humble."
United last claimed the second-tier title in 2019/20 in unorthodox circumstances, being deemed Champions on a points-per-game ruling by the SPFL following the curtailment of the season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
He continued: "It’s up to us to keep striving for better - we can’t settle. We need to keep getting better each day in training, and it’ll become more natural on a Saturday."
Morton Musings
Concluding, Moult was queried on the challenges he and his teammates will face on Saturday as United welcome Greenock Morton to Tannadice for the first time this season.
Dougie Imrie's side have contrasted their emphatic Viaplay Cup campaign with a dismal start to league business. The Ton have shipped the most goals in the division, 11, and lost 75% of their Championship matches so far this term.
However, the Morton test is one which the Terrors won't take lightly.
“We won’t underestimate anyone - you see that last weekend in the cup. The Gaffer put a really strong team out and we blew them away in the first half -we’re going into every game like that.
“They’re not on a great run but they have some great players in there and they’ll be very well organised. It's up to us to break them down and really go for it."
Table-topping United have the opportunity to record their fourth consecutive clean sheet for the first time since February 2022.
Defensive trio Jack Walton, Kevin Holt and Declan Gallacher have been a revelation for Goodwin's men, having leaked just one goal in their last seven competitive outings.
“We’re certainly scoring goals in the attacking third but we’re also keeping clean sheets - that’s a great formula to have. Everyone at the club is together, pulling in the same direction and that’s why we’re achieving.
“We go into every game confident and believing we can win the game and that’s exactly how we’ll address this match. “The Gaffer has us so prepared it's unbelievable. It's fantastic for us going into a game.
