Hunger is burning bright for Mulgrew

Charlie Mulgrew insists he will hang up his boots the minute he loses his hunger to succeed. The former Scotland and Celtic star signed for Dundee United last summer on a two-year deal after leaving Blackburn Rovers.

The veteran quickly became a key player for Tam Courts’ side, with the Tangerines eventually finishing fourth and securing European football.

Now, Mulgrew is looking forward to adding another chapter to his illustrious career next season, driven on by his continuing will to win.

The 36-year-old said: “I spoke to the manager and the sporting director before I came here.

“I made it clear I still had the hunger and that’s important because as you get older, it gets questioned.

“Some may see it as you are just trying to see your career out, which maybe happened with players in the past, but I always knew the minute that happens, I will stop playing because I can’t enjoy it the same if I don’t have that hunger to win.

“When I came here, realistically outside Celtic and Rangers, you had as good a chance as anybody to get up the league.

“So in my mind I was pushing for up at the top end of the league.

“I think the management and the boys have all been the same – they have been pushing for that as well and we wanted to finish fourth.

“It has lived up to expectations, but you just never know which teams are going to be brilliant, which teams are maybe not going to have a great season.”

United are back in Europe for the first time in 10 years and Mulgrew could not hide his delight at helping the club achieve that goal.

He added: “It’s brilliant. When we got into the top six, that was always the aim.

“At the start of the season, we all set individual goals and some people maybe had their sights on different things, but once we got top six, we came together and we knew European football was a possibility.

“It is a great feeling and we wanted to get fourth to finish on a high.

“You only get one chance at a career and you want to make it the best you can.

“I want to do the best I can for Dundee United and hopefully in Europe we can have a go at it as well.”

There were question marks over United at the start of last season under rookie boss Courts, but Mulgrew insisted the Tangerines have proved the doubters wrong.

Mulgrew said: “If people did question us, then I don’t know what they expected. I suppose we’ve shown we are capable of competing at the top end of this league and getting European football.

“We are not getting carried away. We have got European football and finished fourth, but we will quickly look to go again strongly next year.”

KEY MAN: Charlie Mulgrew says his will to win hasn’t faded and he can’t wait to play in Europe with Dundee United.