Mellon aiming to grow

New Tannadice manager excited by ‘unbelievable talent’ he’s seen at club

Dundee United boss Micky Mellon insists he is in the city to grow the club off the pitch as well as on it.

United sporting director Tony Asghar spoke of Mellon’s ability to connect with the community as key in deciding to sign the 48-year-old on a two-year deal.

That sentiment is one the former Tranmere Rovers gaffer is keen to echo, saying he is eager to develop the culture at the Tangerines.

“I know the history of this football club and I know the passion that the fans have for this club,” Mellon said.

“I will be aiming to make sure that they know I am going to match what they expect to see on that football pitch.

“That’s the first thing about culture, you’ve got to grow into it and accept it.

“I have been making sure I represent that at all times and that the players do. We will work hard to do that.

“When you get that relationship and start building that relationship with the fanbase and they get to know you – because you’re not going to do that in an hour – when they see what type of person you are the relationship starts to grow.

“I’m confident, like I’ve been at all the clubs that I’ve worked for and all the chairmen I’ve worked for, that I will be able to show I will represent what they need to see at their football club in order to try to create the type of football and the type of team that they want to see.

“It’s a growth in the relationship thing. I will be going out to meet people and making sure they get to know me as much as possible. It’s all about relationships.”

After four years spent in the Championship, Arabs are excited to see their team competing in the top flight once more next season.

With the big kick-off just around the corner – St Johnstone come to Tannadice on August 1 – Mellon is pleased there is a buzz around the club again.

“I want everybody to be excited,” he continued.

“We want to keep building the momentum of the last couple of seasons of how well they’ve done.

“I’ve watched games back on the TV from last season and you can see the atmosphere in the stadium.

“It’s crackling, a fantastic noise and we want to build on that and keep it going.

“Everybody is going to suffer because of the coronavirus. There’s been a big pause in the game and there’ll probably be one until we resume it for a little bit.

“We just have to make sure we keep going forward as a football club and jump on that because that’s a fantastic thing in football.

“If we can keep adding to that, everybody knows what Dundee United can be.

“It’s a terrific club, so we’ll be aiming to try to achieve that.”

On the park, Mellon has also been “brilliantly impressed” by the players at his disposal and has high hopes for his debut campaign in Scottish football.

“I always, when I go into a football club, find out as much about the group as I can,” he said.

“I’ve watched loads of games now of Dundee United and seen all the different styles of play and the personnel that have been in there. I’ll spend my time wisely trying to do that.

“Then I’ve watched them in training and watched them doing certain things that experienced managers are able to watch, see and find out about people as quickly as they can.

“Then we’ve got the game today and through that process I’ll form an opinion of the group and where I think they are and the different qualities you need to be a successful team.

“That’s how we’ll grow it. I’ll look with my own eyes.

“I’ve been brilliantly impressed by the enthusiasm of some of these young players, there’s some unbelievable talent here.”

Of Scotland striker and Tangerines talisman Lawrence Shankland, he added: “He has done terrific here and is going to get better and better but there’s a lot of talent here, players who I will give opportunities here and time to grow.”