We can still make Utd’s season great

VETERAN striker Scott McDonald is an Australian and, true to his national sporting stereotype, he pulls no punches when he sums up Dundee United’s season to date.

The 34-year-old makes no attempt to hide from the fact so far it’s not been good enough but, as he looks forward to the Premiership play-offs, he’s equally certain it can become a fantastic campaign.

That’s a challenge he’s relishing and hopes his team-mates are as well.

“We can make a season that’s been – let’s be honest – mediocre, a great season in terms of being promoted and getting this club back where it should be,” is how he puts it.

“We’ve seen the levels we can reach but it’s not been consistent enough and at times not good enough, we all know that.

“We all have to now get our heads bloody screwed on and go for the jugular. Hopefully these big games will bring the personalities and qualities out i n our big-game players.”

For a club of United’s stature, both in terms of prestige and financially, a third season in the second tier of Scottish football would be a disaster.

That means the pressure will be on big time over the next few weeks, but McDonald admits he is l ooking forward to what’s lying ahead.

And he also accepts the personal responsibility of being an experienced pro who knows exactly what’s involved in negotiating the kind of ties coming up.

“The pressures of these games, I enjoy it. They are big games, everyone is looking at you. These games are going to be watched by a lot of people and you want to be in them.

“And you would like to think I have a part to play because I know what these two-legged ties are all about.

“First legs are always cagey affairs, there is so much riding on it and it’s a knockout stage now.

“I don’t think it really matters, though a lot of people will say in psychological terms it does, whether you play the first leg at home or not.