WHAT’S BEST FOR UNITED IS MY NO.1 PRIORITY
Courts insists Siegrist door still open despite club’s interest in Saints’ Clark
TAM COURTS insists the door is still open for Benji Siegrist to stay at Dundee United– but admits they have to look at other options in case the keeper decides to move on.
Record Sport revealed yesterday United have already approached St Johnstone to confirm they want to hold pre-contract talks with their No.1 Zander Clark.
And Courts reckons they need to cover all bases, even though he’s expecting January signing Carljohan Eriksson to fight for the gloves next season.
The United boss, who takes his team to Rangers this weekend, said: “The club’s discussions with Benji have been on-going.
“They are transparent and open but we also need to monitor activity not only in Scotland but overseas as well.
“That is something we are doing regularly.
“We are very proactive on that front and we also have Carljohan, who is really starting to acclimatise.
“The reality is it is going to be pre-season before we see Carljohan at his best.
“In terms of what else is in the market we have to be proactive and protect the club’s interests.”
United are also hoping to get new deals over the line for midfielder Ian Harkes and youngster Lewis Neilson in the coming weeks. Both are out of contract this summer.
Courts said: “Ian had fully responded to the way we want to manage and want the team to play.
“He has been one of our standout performers and trains all out every day. He is very well liked within the group and is a really intelligent footballer. “He is also at a brilliant age (27) and if he was to commit to a new contract at Dundee United then I would see that as a really big breakthrough for the club.” Academy graduate Neilson is closing to signing a new two-year contract. Courts reckons the big defender, 18, has started to come of age in recent weeks and was big in last week’s win over Motherwell. He said: “There have been talks on-going with Lewis this year.
“He has had to be very patient this season. There have been centre-backs for different reasons who have left the club and there has also been the emergence of Ross Graham.
“Lewis has had to be patient and wait for his opportunity. He’s made a number of appearances for an 18-year-old centre-back.
“You saw him at Celtic Park, he came off the bench against Hearts and started at the weekend, you can see the trajectory he is on. Lewis is an exciting young talent.” Neilson was tipped for big things but he then saw Kerr Smith, who won a bigmoney move to Aston Villa, surpass him. But Courts knows Neilson has worked hard on his game and has what it takes to go all the way. The United manager added: “Sometimes we fall into a trap of accelerating their development when they have got to go through some trauma and little roadblocks to realise what they have got at the club.
“Lewis as a physical specimen from his debut to where he is now – there’ been enormous development there, even in terms of the work he is doing with the individual performance coach.
“Things are coming to fruition. The talent is there and he is very advanced in terms of his physical stature.
“You saw on Saturday a boy who is keen to grab his opportunity at a crucial stage in the season.
“You have seen Ross do that recently and you can see Lewis doing the same.”
United are still waiting for the full extent of Marc McNulty’s knee injury. The striker had to limp off against Motherwell after a nasty collision with a team-mate.