Motivation won’t be a problem for fired-up Terrors

DUNDEE United need to b u i l d m o me nt u m from scratch after last season’s t it le-w i n n i ng campaign was brought to a shuddering halt by the Covid-19 pandemic.

But wide man, Peter Pawlett, doesn’t see any impediments to them doing exactly that – then using it to carry them up the table.

“When you win a league like we did, usually you have your celebrations and the momentum carries you right through the summer,” he said.

“For us, it hasn’t been like that because it stopped so abruptly and we didn’t get those celebrations.

“So the onus will be on us to build that momentum again ourselves so we can hit the ground running in the Premiership.

“I’m sure it will come back pretty quickly when everyone is back together training again.

“And the anticipation of games when the fixtures come out for the new season will be another boost for the lads.

“We have missed out on the momentum other teams being promoted usually get but I don’t think it will be a problem.

“There is more than enough motivation within our squad to cope with that and get it back.

“We have a tight-knit squad and the players who can make it a successful season. It’s going to be tough but we have the ability in the team to get into the top six.

“You have to set your expectations high – Dundee United is a big club and we want to go into it with a mindset about more than just staying up.

“We want to have a real go at it and that’s what we’ll do.”

Pawlett knows what it takes to finish at the top end of the Premiership, having helped Aberdeen do just that in the early years of Derek McInnes’ reign as manager.

Looking at United’s chances this year, he reckons the settled nature of their squad is a big bonus.

He explained: “That will be massive for us. There aren’t going to be massive changes, we have only lost two players, so the stability is there. That was a factor last season because the majority of the team arrived in January so had that few months together.