Mellon warns off vultures as he posts No Sale sign
MICKY MELLON insists none of his top stars will be leaving unless it benefits Dundee United.
The new boss knows there will be a lot of interest in his squad, including Scotland star Lawrence Shankland, with the way they convincingly won the Championship and sealed their Premiership return.
Former boss Robbie Neilson has already come back for coaches Lee McCulloch and Gordon Forrest and has also been speculatively linked with midfielder Calum Butcher.
But Mellon has stated nobody will be leaving if it will be to the detriment of his squad unless the price is right.
When asked about Butcher, Mellon replied: “Sometimes these meetings are like a game of poker, you can probably see from my face that’s the first time I’ve heard that.
“There won’t be anything moving out of here if we don’t think it’ll make United better.
“We want to improve and keep moving the club forward. That’s where we’re at with all our decisions. I’m not giving you my poker face that was just one that shocked me.
“We’re trying to grow this club so the last thing we want to do is dismantle anything.”
Mellon is more interested in
BY SCOTT BURNS assessing the squad after first week in the job.
He has been impressed with what he has inherited, with some talented young players coming through there is a real platform to build from. his
He accepts there are likely to be areas that need strengthening but he won’t rush into anything.
Mellon said: “It’s still early doors and the group deserves the respect that they’ve earned from being champions.
“We’ll respect that and keep giving them the opportunity to perform at the minute. I’ll keep looking at it and if I believe there’s a player out there who will make the squad better and they’re available to us then we’ll try to do that.
“At the minute I’m quite calm about it and know where I’m at in terms of organising things in my own head. I’ll just continue watching every day to get a picture of the group but it should be an absolute respect to having the champions here.”
The United boss is also set to play the waiting game in naming his backroom staff.
Mellon said: “Lee and Gordon Forrest are leaving and, at the minute, I’m blessed to have Dave Bowman and Brian Grant.
“Credit to them because they’ve been nothing short of fantastic. That enables me to buy some time and make sure I do the right thing when I think about the staff we want to bring in and work with.”