Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Ross pleads for pledges United
JACK Ross is preaching patience to Dundee United supporters hungry for new signings, insisting that competition for “established quality” is fierce.
United are the only side in the Premiership who have yet to make a summer signing, albeit Ross is keen to emphasise that tireless efforts are being made behind the scenes to remedy that.
A new goalkeeper, midfield reinforcements and a centreforward are particularly pressing concerns.
But Ross is adamant United’s task is made all the more challenging because they are aiming high with their targets – and going toe-to-toe with a host of suitors.
“We are being ambitious in who we want to bring in,” said Ross. “Sometimes, the more ambitious you are, the more difficult it is.
“We are aiming for established quality and there is more competition for those players.
“If we exhaust our options on certain players, we need to move on to other targets. But the identification has been done on individuals who can make us better.”
Ross added: “I think we need to bring greater depth to the group, so it’s definitely not something we are flippant about.
“We know we need depth and quality but, by committing to the ones we want, we might need to be patient.”
Although keen to prioritise excellence over expedience, Ross accepts that time is of the essence as he seeks to craft his new-look Terrors.
“We are playing catch-up because there are things I’ve had to do over the last 10 days that I would have normally done earlier in the summer period,” added Ross. “We’re chasing things a little bit. However, our ability to recruit is there.”
Dundee United depart for a fiveday training camp in Spain on July 10, and it’s an ideal opportunity for Ross to put his stars through their paces, build camaraderie and put his tactical ideas across.
Asked whether he would hope to have several fresh faces in time for that trip, he added: “Ideally, yes. I would have liked more in by now – but that’s not been for the want of trying.
“The quicker, the better, because we want to begin preparations as early as we can.
“The physical stuff is fine but, from a tactical and game-play perspective, we’ve only been able to do that with a very light touch because we do think the squad will evolve significantly.”