The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Recovery dance for ‘cha-cha Chalmers’
Logan Chalmers lit up social media this week with his training ground trickery. Now the Dundee United star cannot wait to shine again at Tannadice after fighting back to fitness.
Chalmers made his first appearance in almost five months in United’s goalless draw with Celtic.
The playmaker had been out with a ligament injury picked up in United’s first meeting with Aberdeen this season.
Proof of his returning sharpness came in the form of a video posted by United’s social media team this week entitled “Chacha Chalmers”.
In it, he skips past two men in the box before pirouetting round a third and eventually finishing his move by nutmegging the goalkeeper.
The clip whetted United fans’ appetite to see Chalmers unleashed in a competitive game.
The 20-year-old is keeping his feet on the ground, though – and insists his only focus is on getting back into Micky Mellon’s side.
“Everything I try in training is related to what I like to try and do in games,” he said.
“It’s just good to be back out on the grass in general.
“I’ve been watching all the boys’ games when I’ve not been playing and they have still been doing well.
“It’s good for me to come back now. I’ve got some competition in my position so I just want to try and fight to get back into the team.
“I’d like to just try and get back in the team and finish off that successful, but frustrating, season.”
Despite not needing surgery for his injury, Chalmers admits he was frustrated during his spell injured.
“It was a tough three and a bit months,” he conceded.
“Especially the time that it came, it wasn’t really ideal with the way I was playing in and around the team, but it’s part of football and I just have to get over it.
“I went to see a few specialists across Scotland and just hearing someone at the top like that explaining that it’s normal for you to still be this sore and it will be normal soon, you just have to keep doing what you’re doing.
“The most frustrating thing at the time was the fact that I didn’t know how long it was going to be until I got a scan.
“I’m the kind of player that wants to push too much and I didn’t like being out of the side for too long.
“It was frustrating but I’m just happy to be back now.”
Aberdeen’s visit to Tannadice today is United’s final game before the split, with a poor run of form between late December and early February meaning they will almost certainly be in the bottom six.
United will need to defeat Aberdeen and hope St Mirren lose against Hamilton, along with an eight-goal swing, to have any chance of playing topsix football.
They will also have to rely on St. Johnstone not picking up three points against Ross County.
“We know now that top six probably can’t happen but we just have to make sure that we take each game and try and finish the season as strongly as we can for building up going into next season,” said Chalmers.
Aberdeen skipper Joe Lewis insists they are ready to move on from the emotional exit of Derek Mcinnes and put everything into a crucial couple of months.
The Dons are six points off third place, which could yet offer a passport to European group stage football, and six ahead of Livingston, who are looking to move up into the European places.