The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Winger keen to play part this time
King hopes to go from viewer to victor in United push
Billy King kicked every ball from his living room chair the last time Dundee United played against Falkirk.
Now the Tannadice wideman wants to go from being a viewer to a victor as the Tangerines look to get their promotion campaign back on track away to the Bairns this afternoon.
While Ray McKinnon’s team were in the thick of a dramatic second leg clash on May 19, King was sitting at home in Inverness knowing that the outcome of the play-offs would decide which division he would be playing in this season.
He had already agreed to join United by then but did not know whether they would be staying in the Championship or heading up to the Premiership.
Paul Dixon’s late headed goal that night sent them through to face topflight Hamilton in the final, which proved to be a hurdle too far for the Tangerines.
That kept King and his new teammates in Scotland’s second tier and now the challenge is to get it right second time around.
That isn’t proving easy, with an offform United struggling of late.
King, though, is optimistic about their chances of repeating the feat of that memorable 2-1 success over the Bairns in this rematch.
“I knew I was coming here last season when the play-offs were on so I watched the Falkirk game on the telly,” recalled the former Hearts, Rangers and Inverness Caley Thistle player.
“It was a really strange one because the outcome of the play-offs would determine what league I would be playing in but there was nothing I could do to influence it.
“It was a weird one but I was shouting at the telly and kicking every ball in my living room.
“I thought the team were excellent that night against Falkirk.
“They also had a massive support behind them and they really spurred them on.
“Even watching on the telly you could see how big a club United is and what the potential is here.
“Unfortunately, even though they got through against Falkirk they just ran out of steam against Hamilton.
“That is understandable because of the way the whole thing is set up. It is designed to favour the Premiership team.
“The aim this year is to go up without being in the play-offs and a win against Falkirk would get us back on track.”
In their last three league fixtures, United have struggled to beat Brechin City at Tannadice, lost heavily away to St Mirren and rescued a draw against Dumbarton at home last Saturday.
King knows that isn’t the form of champions and that improvement is required.
What he would love is an early goal to settle any nerves.
He said: “Last weekend was a huge disappointment because we don’t want to be dropping points like that at home.
“We lost a sloppy goal, the crowd got frustrated and that led to us getting frustrated as well.
“Teams will sit in against us at Tannadice so we have to learn to deal with that a lot better.
“These games are down to how you start.
“You need to have better movement and runners off the ball than we had against Dumbarton.
“If you can get a goal early on in these games it is a whole different story, but, when you don’t, nerves kick in.
“It would be crucial because if you can get one then it sets you up for the rest of the game.
“We know we have not clicked yet but there were a lot of new boys this summer so you take time to learn what each other is like.
“It has to happen quickly but we don’t feel pressure.”
Nearly everyone who was asked tipped the Tangerines for the title this season but King does not feel the expectation level is a burden.
“We are two points off the top of the league and there is a long way to go,” he added.
“We know we have good players but it’s about being patient.
“We know that if we play the way we can then we will win games.”