I’ll Coll it a way of learning
68 Sunday Mail
Coll Donaldson will never shy away from his part in Dundee United’s top-flight relegation last season.
But the Terrors defender believes the brutal ordeal will see him emerge a better player this one.
The 21-year-old hopes to be an integral part of Ray McKinnon’s set-up in the Championship as the club look to bounce straight back into Scotland’s top flight.
Donaldson wi l l never forget the pain suffered at Dens Park in May when city rivals Dundee sent them down to the second tier.
But as United prepare to start the new campaign against Arbroath this Friday in the group stage of the new-look Betfred Cup, he has vowed to learn from it.
He said: “It’s still early in my career but going down was the worst feeling I’ve had in footbal l. How it happened was tough to take.
“Dundee scored in the last minute and that summed up our season in so many ways. Overall we just weren’t good enough.
“But hopefully in the long run it’ll help me in my career. You learn a lot about people when these things happen.
“The easy option is to hide away from it and pretend it didn’t happen. But I think you have to learn from it.
“Individually and as a team, we did a lot of things wrong. But you have to somehow try and take a positive from the experience.
“It’s easy to say that now but at the time it was hard on us all, especially the fans.”
However, Donaldson believes Tannadice fans have reason to be optimistic fol lowing McKinnon’s arrival from Raith Rovers two months ago.
He said: “The manager has been brilliant so far. On his first day he sat the squad down and said it was a clean slate for everyone.
“He has told us we’ll get an opportunity as long as we deserve one. He’s going to demand a lot from us.
“But it ’ s a dif ferent philosophy he’s bringing in and it has been really refreshing. I’m really excited about the new season, I think all the boys are.”