The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
United fans welcome new statue for McLean
Scores of Dundee United fans turned up to see the unveiling of a bronze statue honouring local legend Jim McLean on Saturday evening.
A private ceremony was held earlier in the evening for family, close friends, board members and players from McLean’s 1983 leaguewinning team.
After the ceremony, fans were welcomed to the top of the ramp outside of the Eddie Thompson stand at Tannadice Park for pictures with the new sculpture.
Some fans even travelled across the country to get a glimpse of the tribute.
David Meldrum travelled more than 90 miles from East Kilbride to see the statue over the weekend.
“I’d seen some pictures online before and it looked very impressive, and I would say it is very impressive in person,” he said.
“I’ve driven 90 miles to be here. I’m not local – but Jim McLean got me interested in football. It’s brought me a lot of joy.”
Mr Meldrum attended his first United match more than 40 years ago.
He said: “I was living in East Kilbride at the time and I came up to watch a game and I was blown away by the quality of football.”
He was the first member of the public to get a picture with the tribute to Jim McLean.
David was joined by local Dundee United fans who also turned up early to see the new Jim McLean statue.
Local fan Michael Barile brought family and friends along to greet the statue.
“The statue’s phenomenal, I’m really impressed,” said Mr Barile.
“The big tragedy is that it wasn’t put up there last year when he was still alive.
“I know that Alan, the sculptor, sent Doris (the late manager’s widow) a DVD of it to show Jim, so Jim saw it. But he never saw the real thing.”
Dundee United fan Graham Byrne was keen to get a glimpse of the statue, after attending Jim’s games as a child.
“That’s the guy that got me into United,” said Mr Byrne.
“The statue’s brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I’m from Dundee and I’ve been a fan of Dundee United all my life.
“I saw them win their first piece of silver in the 70s. I was right on the pitch after it!”
The statue shows the late McLean celebrating with the Premier Division trophy that he won with the club in 1983 – the only time in the Tangerines’ history that they have won the top league.
Friends Leann Crichton and Frank Harley came to see the statue together with their respective children.
“I think it’s absolutely stunning,” said Ms Crichton.
“I feel that, because of Covid, he really didn’t get the send off that fans wanted to give him.
“So this will allow us to have some place to remember the man, and he’s always going to be watching and looking down on us.”
Others found that it brought back memories of working at the stadium.
“I’ve got a long history here,” said Frank Harley.
“I used to be a groundsman at one point with Dundee United.
“My wife’s father used to drive for Dundee United as well, back when they were travelling across Europe in the 1980s.”
Mr Harley was impressed by the statue, which was designed and created by Edinburgh-based sculptor Alan Heriot.
He added: “A great man and it’s a beautiful statue, it’s really well done.”
A total of £62,000 was raised to pay for the monument by a steering group and Dundee United Community Trust, with donations from supporters from across the globe.