UNITED REBORN
Tannadice side look ready for top return
IT’S not just its status as a Premiership club that Dundee United lost in the past few years.
The latter days of the Thompson family’s regime deprived the Tayside club of all sense of unity, harmony and direction.
The ability to make sensible decisions and implement a strategy which would help spark the long climb back was yet another casualty.
Amid it all, it’s little wonder that everyone associated with the club was shorn of their sense of self-worth.
Once one of the best sides in Europe, the infighting and wilderness years gnawed away at the collective confidence. What was once a confident swagger became a nervous slouch.
Long before Cammy Smith had fired the sixth goal of the night past Dundee’s Jack Hamilton on Friday, long-suffering United fans were in a state of euphoria.
No one had to wait until the morning to see if they’d witnessed another false dawn. Their club had been reborn.
It was telling in the aftermath that no one responsible for a jaw-dropping scoreline trotted out the age-old cliché about the 6-2 win delivering just another three points.
If, prosaically, that is plainly true, this was so much more. It was an emphatic statement of intent which suggested Robbie Neilson’s side could have this title in the bag before the Easter eggs are found. A display so ruthless
and powerful that it immediately became the end point for the dark age and the beginning of a bold new era.
Summing up the ebullient mood in the home dressing room before the game that simply hasn’t existed for a number of years, Louis Appere, the scorer of a superb second on the night, said: ‘Even before the game, the gaffer said we know how good we are and that we could go out and batter them if we played the way we know we can play.
‘Even at half-time, he was telling us to keep going and to get a really good result. He wanted us to make a statement. I think we certainly did that.
‘He told us to go out there and be ruthless and we did that. It was a great result and we are really happy.’
On New Year’s Day 2015, United triumphed by exactly the same scoreline in the derby, yet within 18 months they were being relegated by their city rivals.
Friday’s thrashing was sweet retribution, and so much more. After the takeover by the Ogren family late last year, it felt like the final clouds of suspicion had been lifted. United again in nature, as well as name.
An extraordinary battle also underscored the mental fortitude of the players Neilson is working with. When the Dark Blues deservedly equalised after 22 minutes, it would have taken a brave man to pick a winner.
Yet Appere’s crisp half-volley summoned something quite extraordinary within the home ranks.
By half-time, striker Lawrence Shankland had claimed his tenth goal of the season from the penalty spot and Calum Butcher his second header of the night. A rout was on the cards.
‘It is still a bit of a blur,’ Appere said of his first senior goal. ‘I took it down on my chest, composed myself and then volleyed it and, thankfully, it went into the roof of the net. That knocked the stuffing out of them a little bit.
‘We then got another couple of goals and got to 4-1. It was a great performance.
‘People were asking me if I had my celebration ready before the game. I said yes but after I scored I don’t know what came over me, so I will need to work on that for the next one.’
The fact his side could boast five different scorers on the night was yet another reason for Neilson to reflect on the 90 minutes with immense satisfaction.
Shankland’s goals are coming so frequently that there’s a danger of them being taken for granted. Appere appreciates the burden must be spread more evenly.
‘It was good to see a few of us get goals and not just Shanks,’ he added. ‘He played brilliant but so did everyone. It was a great result.
‘Lawrence told me my goal was coming. He’s a great goalscorer and asset for the team and I know he was delighted for me.’
The fact that two of the scorers on the night — Ian Harkes and Smith — began on the bench came to illustrate the depth in Neilson’s squad.
The start of September may be a little premature to talk of them being champions-elect but it can be said with some certainty that it will take an awfully good side to deny them.
‘Yes because we are going well and we have a lot of confidence,’ concurred Appere. ‘It’s a good start. It is only four games and we need to keep going but it was a big motivation for us to go seven points head of Dundee.’
By the end of the game, Neilson’s players had run themselves into the ground but had retained just enough energy to dance in celebration on the sodden turf in front of their ecstatic fans.
Reflecting on his own journey to that point, Appere rather summed up the positivity that is now coursing through the old place.
‘This time last year, I was training with the reserves and then I was on loan at Broughty,’ he smiled.
‘I did well there and came in and did well in pre-season and now the gaffer has given me my chance. Not long ago, I played in a Junior Cup final here. Now I am playing here in front of a sold-out derby.’
Confirming his desire to remain an integral part of the United story as it gathers pace, he added: ‘Yes, we are in contract talks. A lot of the boys are in talks over new deals, so we will see what happens. We are pretty close.’