Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
‘United should six and having
CALUM Butcher says “unfinished business” brought him back to Dundee United as he expressed his pride at making 100 appearances for the club.
Butcher left the Tangerines in 2015 after two years in the City of Discovery – only to return at the start of 2019 after stints with a few clubs down south.
Last month’s 4-1 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox marked the midfielder’s century and, in turn, another step towards mission complete for Butcher.
On returning for his second spell, Butch was determined to get the Terrors back into the Premiership and going up against Scotland’s big boys week in, week out.
With that ticked off, the 30-yearold’s focus is now on helping United build and fight for top six and silverware in the seasons to come.
“It’s a proud moment and really nice,” Butcher said of joining the Tangerines’ 100 club.
“You don’t really think about it consciously, you don’t see it tallying up game by game but when it happens it’s nice.
“It’s good to have played 100 games for a club I really care about and want to do well for.
“Coming back I knew we wanted to get back in the Premiership and playing at the top level, building towards really competing.
“Hopefully we can go on and have a good cup run.
“Last year was just about going up and we managed to do that. Staying in the Premiership was massive this year.
“The top six and winning silverware was spoken about when
I first came back and that’s where the club wants to go.
“There’s a five-year plan and a vision of where the club wants to be. That’s definitely where I see it going and a place I want to be.
“We want to be in the top six and having good cup runs, enjoying those moments because you don’t get enough of them in your career.
“That’s what we’ve got to be aiming for in the future, for sure.”
Midfield ace Butcher, who can also play at centre-half, believes there is a big difference in atmosphere at United this time around compared to his first spell.
Not only has the club changed, the Essex lad feels he has matured into a leader for the Tangerines and one ready to prove himself “all over again”.
He said: “When I came here last I was in a totally different situation to what I am now.
“When I first came here I was a young kid who hadn’t played a lot of games and I was finding my way.
“Things happened very quickly when I went down south, I was winning stuff straight away and playing a lot of games.
“I came back a different player. I wasn’t enjoying my football at