United hero Kuate admits McKinnon was right to read him the riot act
A FORMER Manchester City prospect with a swagger to his play and a tendency to speak of himself in the third person, Wato Kuate suffers from no lack of ego.
Equally, he is a big enough man to accept with good grace a half-time rollicking from his manager, Ray McKinnon.
Kuate, the Cameroon-born Portuguese midfielder, was having a solid enough game in Dundee United’s Play-off tie against Morton on Friday night, but his boss knew the 21-year-old could offer substantially more.
A few sharp words did the trick as Kuate emerged after the interval to dominate the game and rattled in United’s second goal in their 3-0 win (aggregate 5-1).
‘When you know somebody can do something great and he is not doing it, then it is normal to get upset,’ said Kuate of McKinnon’s pointed intervention.
‘The manager was right to expect much more from me. Okay, he shouted at Wato a little bit. It is his temper but I like that. It shows the competitive spirit, the fighting spirit.
‘I understood the message. There was a lot of pressure in this game but every game in these Play-offs is like a final and there will be pressure.
‘It is not for the small players. It is for the players who are ready to fight. I think we are ready for that. I am!
While Kuate has undoubted ability, his career arc suggests he is a restless fellow. A free agent when McKinnon signed him in March, his last port of call had been Asteras Tripoli in Greece.
Previously, he had played for Akhisar in Turkey in the wake of his release from City, whose academy he joined in 2012.
He refuses to discuss where he sees himself playing beyond the conclusion of the Play-offs, insisting his focus is wholly on the second stage of the schedule, a two-legged semi-final against Falkirk that commences at Tannadice on Tuesday night.
Kuate may have his eyes on a bigger stage but it is plain United’s bargaining position would be enhanced by promotion to the Premiership.
Encouragingly for the club, he is not prepared to consider any alternative outcome.
‘When I signed for United I wanted to make history. I wanted promotion and we have to do it,’ he insisted. ‘We have to take it game by game, fight and get that promotion.
‘When you have the players, the team, you have to do it. We must be promoted.
‘I’m not even thinking about what will happen after that, I’m respecting my contract until the end of the season and I believe in Wato doing the things he must do. Everything will follow.’
If the rest of United’s squad can tap into Kuate’s self-belief, the Play-off outcome should be favourable.
His goal, a 25-yard left-foot screamer was the stand-out moment of Friday’s game and was his first in Scottish football.
Although a trawl of the internet reveals no previous form for goalscoring in toplevel matches, the player insists such moments are to be expected when he takes possession of the ball.
‘Those who know me know what I have already done in football,’ he said. ‘They know it is normal for Wato to score that kind of goal.
‘I haven’t played since the season started but Wato knows that when he has his full confidence, he can do a lot of things on the pitch.’
Sandwiched between strikes from Simon Murray and Blair Spittal, Kuate reacted to his big moment at Tannadice’s old Shed End by sprinting to the other end of the ground where the noisiest section of the home support were congregated in the Eddie Thompson Stand.
He explained: ‘Since I came here, the fans have been so lovely to me and when I heard their voices, I told myself that this goal must be for them.
‘I stood and watched them celebrate. It was unbelievable.’