I’d no doubt my old boss would make his Mark

FORMER Dundee United captain Mark Reynolds believes Tam Courts has “silenced his critics” amid talks with Rijeka.

Courts is wanted by the Croatian Euro regulars and Tele Sport understands negotiations are ongoing between club and candidate.

The 40-year-old had an incredible first season at the helm for United, guiding them to a fourth-placed Premiership finish and helping book their first European trip in 10 years.

But, as Tele Sport revealed, his time at United could be coming to an end, with other clubs looking to acquire his services.

Courts’ former Tannadice skipper Reynolds believes his old gaffer has worked wonders.

“I don’t think Tam Courts gets enough credit for how good a manager he is,” he said.

“He came in as an underdog and there were a lot of questions asked of him. That spell at the start of the season, he started really strong and silenced a lot of critics.

“I was still there at that time and you could see the work being done – it was very calculated.

“He knew what he wanted from the players and the players knew the messages they were getting from him.

“It was very consistent.

“We believed we had good enough players at the time and a system that would ultimately get us into the top six.

“They’ve done brilliantly to do that and picked up their performances towards the end of the season and got some huge results just when they needed them.”

Reynolds, who left United in January, believes part of Courts’ success is his willingness to give young players a chance.

Kieran Freeman, Archie Meekison and Ross Graham are just three youngsters to have been given a chance in the first team.

Reynolds singled out fellow centre-back Graham in particular for his performances.

“Having worked with Tam, Liam Fox and Adam Asghar – they won’t just put in young players to fill a quota. They put them in because they believe they are good enough and make a difference on the pitch.