Neilson keen to reward ‘exceptional’ support

Dundee United manager Robbie Neilson believes no club outside of Scotland’s big five can beat their support, writes Ian Roache.

Neilson has gone out of his way to praise the Tangerines’ fans for the way they have rallied around him and his players in his first three matches in charge.

The thousand-strong army that travelled to Partick for his first match were followed by over 1,800 at Dunfermline last weekend.

Sandwiched between those away fixtures was the home game against Inverness, which saw the United players roared on and applauded off the park despite only drawing 1-1.

There has been an immediate warming of the relationship between players and supporters and Neilson feels that few fanbases can match United’s for numbers.

He said: “The support on Saturday at Dunfermline was exceptional.

“We had over 1,800 fans and for me there are very few teams who can do that.

“You are looking at Rangers, Celtic, Hearts, Hibs and Aberdeen.

“So it showed the support we have and how much they want the team to do well.

“Now it is up to the players and us as staff to show the workrate and desire the fans deserve for making those journeys and paying their money to come.

“I’m not surprised the United fans have come out because I know when teams are going through a bad period – and it can be a sustained bad period like we’ve had here, which has been maybe three or four years – the fans want to come and help their team.

“They want to enjoy football and the excitement, then go home on a Saturday night having had a good time at the game,” added Neilson, whose players take on Queen of the South at Tannadice this Saturday.

“When they don’t get that for a long period people start to drift away but one of the reasons I came here was because I knew the fanbase could be exceptional when things are going well.

“It’s a case of getting things to go well and starting to get the fans back.

“It all comes down to the players performing and working hard. They must show the work ethic, show their commitment.

“There will be days when we make mistakes and we get beat but as long as the players can say they gave everything the fans will be happy because that’s all you can ask of players.”