McDONALD IS MENTOR FOR TANGERINES
RAY McKINNON will ask Scott McDonald to play mentor to the array of young attacking talent in his Dundee United squad.
The United boss has completed his mission to deploy Tannadice tutors in the key departments of his team ahead of the league start.
With Tam Scobbie in defence and Willo Flood in midfield, McKinnon now has 33-year-old McDonald to steer his flair players in the right direction.
McKinnon said: ‘We just needed to get that experience right through the team. We’ve got Willo and Tam Scobbie. Now Scotty comes in up there.
‘He can bring people into the game, he can drag young kids on. Billy King, Paul McMullan, Scott Fraser. He can be a mentor to them, driving them on.
‘At the same time, he’s bringing all the qualities we were needing. James Keatings is a right good footballer but he needs to play off somebody. Somebody experienced.
‘I picture, in my head, those two linking really well. We’d been hanging on looking for that signing, that player that can lead the line really well. And Scotty is a winner.
‘I watched him against Hamilton last season and I thought he was outstanding, putting himself about, backing into people, still so strong.
‘He’s come here to win promotion with us and that’s the mentality we need. It’s just right for us. He’s right for us.
‘We told him how we’d play, where he’d play and he’d be the key No9 for us.’
McKinnon is expecting boundless improvement from his creative players with the help of the former Celtic and Motherwell striker (below).
‘Last year we frequently found it tough when teams backed themselves up against us at home,’ he said.
‘So we need really creative players who can break them down, beat people and open teams up.’