The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Tannadice kids playing their part in promising start to season – Rab Douglas.
You can’t fault the start Dundee United have made to the Premiership season. Two wins and a draw from their first four games is a great return. There is only one thing that matters when you’re promoted from the Championship – points on the board.
It means the players will already feel they belong at that level and doubts don’t start creeping in.
Micky Mellon has got them well organised and hard to break down and to achieve those results without some key players who are injured makes it even more impressive.
You’d obviously put Lawrence Shankland at the top of that list and he’s only played one game.
The fact that Mellon has had the bravery to put young players into his side – and get results at the same time – will also make United fans think this could be a really good season.
Logan Chalmers is one of them. I’m really pleased for him.
Logan came to us at Arbroath in January on loan.
We’d done our homework and everything that came back suggested he would be a really good addition to our squad.
It was through no fault of his own that he didn’t get as much game-time as he’d have been hoping for in his short time at Gayfield.
There was a combination of our form picking up just as he arrived and games getting called off.
I’m sure if the season hadn’t been curtailed he would have got a run in the team and produced the sort of quality we could see in training.
He can play on the left and in the middle and he’s the type of player fans love because he gets at defenders.
Logan’s quick feet were a big part of United’s winning goal in Dingwall on Saturday afternoon.
When players come from bigger clubs on loan it’s as much about their attitude as anything.
Some of them end up being sent back because they don’t buy into parttime football. That certainly wasn’t the case with Logan.
Even though he didn’t get the minutes he was hoping for he’ll have learned a lot from working with great pros like Bobby Linn.
Callum Hendry is a perfect example of a player who took a loan down the leagues for what it is, went back to his parent club having not
“The fact that Mellon has had the bravery to put young players into his side – and get results at the same time – will also make United fans think this could be a really good season
played that much and is now a St Johnstone regular, featuring week in, week out in the Premiership.
Logan is on the right track to do the same.
Intriguing selection
I think everybody is intrigued to see what Aberdeen’s team will be at Mcdiarmid Park tomorrow night and how many of the four of the coronavirus eight who are back and available will play.
The Dons will feel the world’s against them, while Saints will also be highly motivated after they were the innocent victims a couple of weeks ago.
Two easy team talks for the managers!
Unwelcome genie
I can’t agree with Hibernian owner Ron Gordon talking about possible points deductions for Covid-19 breaches.
Yes, the players were in the wrong at Aberdeen and Celtic, but I think that most chairmen and managers realise it could have been them in the spotlight.
Taking points off is a genie I’d be keeping in the bottle.