Feeding the Shanks is key for United, says Stanton

Midfielder determined to keep striker supplied with goal-scoring chances

Dundee United midfielder Sam Stanton knows the key to success this season is supplying their star man.

Striker Lawrence Shankland turned calamity into celebration at Tannadice last weekend with two late goals to beat Arbroath 2-1.

Until he equalised in the 88th minute he had been starved of the ball.

Suddenly, sub Paul Mcmullan threaded a brilliant pass through to Shankland and it was game on. Mcmullan later claimed that as soon as he saw the ball reach his team-mate, he knew United would be level.

Deep into stoppage-time, Stanton then passed to Liam Smith, who used a lovely bit of skill to make room for a cross that was met by Shankland’s head to send the home supporters wild.

Feed the Shanks and he will score was the obvious conclusion to take out of that game.

The Tangerines now welcome Morton to Tannadice and they can expect the Greenock men to put up a show of defiance just like the Lichties did.

The key to unlocking what might be a tight defence is finding the front man.

Stanton said: “With Lawrence in the team there is somebody who can put the ball away if he gets the chances.

“It is all about the delivery because if you don’t get the ball to him then he isn’t going to score.

“He is massive to us but so are the rest of the boys who are trying to get the ball to him.

“I think Morton will approach the game in a similar manner to Arbroath, so our passing will have to be spot-on.”

Stanton felt the Tangerines showed what they are made of by storming back as they did against the Angus men.

He said: “It was hard-fought and we made it difficult for ourselves but we were happy to take the points.

“We showed character because you are not always going to play well in this league.

“We still managed to come away with the points, which was a good thing for us.

“Overall, I think we have started the season really well and we are scoring a lot of goals, especially at Tannadice.

“Maybe we are getting a bit of respect with teams playing like that, where they are hard to beat and break down.

“The good thing from the Arbroath game was that we stuck to our game plan and kept trying to find holes even when we were 1-0 down and eventually it paid off.”

Stanton knows Morton gaffer David Hopkin well from the time they were together at Livingston, so has an idea what to expect from the opposition this afternoon.

He added: “Hoppy was in charge at Livingston when I was there on loan and I liked him.

“I was only there for about three months at the back end of the season but he was a good coach and did really well at Livi.

“They went down to League One but then won two promotions and got back into the Premiership – that was some achievement.

“I know he will have Morton set up really well.

“He will be looking to have similar success with Morton as he has had with Livingston.

“They beat Dundee and it shows the nature of the league because most teams can beat everybody else.”

As for his own season thus far, Stanton said: “I feel it is going quite well.

“I have started well and we’ve won five leagues games, so I just want it to keep going and keep my place in the team.”

Twitter: @C_iroache