Murray holding on to his pipedream
SIMON MURRAY needs little incentive to find the mental focus his manager Ray McKinnon is demanding as Dundee United seek to revive their fading hopes of winning the Championship.
Recent memories of working Saturday mornings as a plumber before jumping in his van to go and play in the Juniors is all he needs to call upon to realise that this is an opportunity which cannot be permitted to slide.
It was the 24-year-old striker who secured an unlikely point against Queens at Tannadice with his second goal in the final minute of normal time. When United, placed in a perfect position by his early opener, went 3-1 down with 25 minutes to play, a third consecutive defeat appeared an inevitability.
They were all over the place, disjointed, devoid of concentration. Queens, ever dangerous on the counter, looked like winning by more.
McKinnon admitted that his side became crippled by some kind of psychological block — helped only by the likes of Blair Spittal, Charlie Telfer and Tope Obadeyi coming off the bench to snap their team-mates out of the trance.
Even so, they are now six points behind a Hibernian side with momentum. Morton, performing magnificently under Jim Duffy, are also breathing down their necks, just five points behind in third place with a game in hand.
Murray is not willing to give this up without a fight, though. Senior football, particularly at this level, is not immune to job insecurity.
He knows that plumbing is always a safety net of sorts, but his registered status expired some time ago and, with 11 goals now to his credit this season, that is not something he has any plans to rectify.
‘I think my Gas Safe (registration) ran out last year,’ said Murray, signed from Arbroath in 2015. ‘I am not thinking about renewing it. I could go back to that, but it’s a hard test. I had to kind of cheat the last time.
‘It is really exciting for me to be playing football in my home town and I love every minute of it.
‘There is pressure here, but it is a good pressure to have. You’re in a title race with a massive club and I just enjoy it because there are more worrying things in life than playing football.
‘Maybe some younger boys take it for granted because they have never seen what it is like to actually have a real job. It’s not for me to say. They have to work it out for themselves. I know what it is like and I don’t want to go back to that.
‘I worked on site, kitting out houses, and it was good money, but it is better here. All my mates are still on site.
‘I used to work on Saturday mornings and then fly over to Tayport in my van for a 1.30 kick-off. When I was working for the family business, I had no choice.’
Murray’s great finish after latching on to a Scott Fraser ball on four minutes provided an excellent platform for United on Saturday, but their concentration wobbled even in the first half and that is always likely to be punished when Stephen Dobbie is on the park.
His 28th-minute strike after the ball had come off Danny Carmichael took his season’s tally to a remarkable 18. He could, undoubtedly, earn his corn further up the ladder, but it is lovely to see him repaying the club that allowed him to turn his failing career around many moons ago — even though his dream of getting them into the Premiership is unlikely to materialise this season, at least.
It was his clever pass which allowed Joe Thomson to make it 2-1 early in the second period and it looked done and dusted when Dom Thomas’s 22-yard scorcher left Cammy Bell clutching at thin air on its way into the top corner.
Yet, United did rally, which offers some hope for them. Fraser got things moving when scoring from the edge of the area with a low shot and Murray connected with an Obadeyi cross late on. Indeed, Mark Durnan, pushed up front at the end, forced a late save from Lee Robinson with a header as the home side piled on the pressure.
Murray was fielded up front with recent signing Thomas Mikkelsen against Queens and knows McKinnon is looking at other striking talent, but he is not for giving up his place.
‘I set a target at the start of the season and I am halfway there,’ he said. ‘I’m aiming for 20 goals and think I can do that, but more would be good.’
Queens couldn’t hold out against a late assault from a United side which woke up to what was going on.
Victory would have pushed them to within four points of the play-off places. As it is, they remain closer to relegation in this ridiculously competitive league. But Thomas insists promotion is more than just the stuff of daydreams.
‘The club is well-run and should be higher up the league,’ insists the on-loan Motherwell attacker.
‘The gaffer has told us to aim for the play-offs and we won’t be far away if we give it 100 per cent every week.’