A wiser Butcher backs young guns to remain fearless

THE last time Dundee United beat Celtic, in December 2014, Calum Butcher was in the thick of the action at Tannadice. Then a fresh-faced 23-year-old, he savoured every moment of a 2-1 win courtesy of goals from two players who would eventually play for Celtic — Nadir Ciftci and Stuart Armstrong.

Six years on, midfielder Butcher is enjoying his second spell at United and, at the age of 29, finds himself one of the veterans of a team which boss Micky Mellon has had no hesitation in filling with young players. They have made a promising start to their Premiership return — taking seven points from four games so far — but face their stiffest test to date against Neil Lennon’s champions tonight. However, Englishman Butcher (right) is confident that United will continue to play without fear, even against such illustrious opponents.

‘We have started pretty well,’ said the former Burton Albion, Millwall and Mansfield Town player. ‘It has been a very young side and the boys have done really well coming into the team. ‘We are missing five or six players from last year through injury but the boys have come in and stepped up and the senior lads have helped as well.

‘Celtic will be very difficult, as they always are. We’re up for the challenge. These are the types of games we have wanted to play in for the last two seasons. ‘We wanted to get promoted to play in these big games. We’re disappointed not to have fans in the stadium but it will still be a great challenge and we’re definitely up for it.’ Butcher retains fond memories of that famous win in 2014 but the most important thing for him now is how the current crop of United players handle the challenge posed by Celtic. ‘Stuart Armstrong and Nadir Ciftci scored and it was a great day,’ he said. ‘But that’s in the past and the young lads don’t know what it’s like going into these games. ‘It will be good for them because they will be going in pretty fearless. ‘They will get the chance to test themselves against top players.

‘You want to win the game but you have to play a certain way against different opponents. We’ll show Celtic respect but we’ll be fearless.’ There have been major changes in both sides since 2014 but one constant in the Celtic line-up is skipper Scott Brown and Butcher is looking forward to renewing their rivalry. ‘It’ll be different because back then I was a kid and now I’m a more mature player.

I’m looking forward to that challenge. ‘He’s a top player and you want to test yourself against the best players in the league.’ Brown is undoubtedly a winner and Butcher admitted that Mellon is determined to instil a similar mentality in his players. ‘Since he came in, he has put that stamp down of trying to win every game,’ he said. ‘He doesn’t want to sit off teams — he wants to press teams.’