Focused United will be hard to beat in title race

DUNDEE Un ited’s highly-impressive start to their league campaign has i n e v i t a b l y c o me with plenty hype – and understandably so.

Many, this writer i ncluded, believe four wins on the bounce in the Championship can be taken as a strong indication that, despite Scotland’s second tier traditionally being one of the toughest divisions around to get out of, for the Tangerines this season it could be a procession.

And, should they win at Ayr United this weekend, that belief will hardly be tempered any. Three points at Somerset Park would arguably mean that, by mid-September, United had beaten all of their potential promotion rivals.

In some cases, like Inverness Caley Thistle and Dundee, they have beaten them well, while the away successes at Partick and Dunfermline have been just as impressive in other ways.

Victory over the Honest Men would also mean 15 points from 15 so far and a minimum of a five-point lead up at the top of the table.

Right now, it would be a brave pundit who’d bet against that being the case, particularly with in-form striker Lawrence Shankland returning to his old stomping ground.

Shankland is a player who’s shown he loves to rise to the occasion and goals from him this weekend look highly likely.

His form so far has only added to that hype and the belief among fans is that, with a fit Shankland firing on all cylinders, there is no way their team is going to get caught this term.

Just as big, but often unnoticed, a reason for the current optimism, however, should be the manner in which boss Robbie Neilson has gone about his business.

Since he was able to start bringing in his own players back in January, Neilson has signed very well. Shankland, of course, is proof of that, but arrivals like the two Marks, defenders Connolly and Reynolds, Peter Pawlett and right-back Liam Smith have been major boosts as well.

And while, derby doubles apart, Calum Butcher’s combative midfield style is unlikely to grab