Why wouldn’t you put up a statue to the man who made it all possible?
the manager did sit him down to explain why he wasn’t getting picked out the 1987 Scottish Cup Final but the conversation left him deflated. “Missing out on the 1987 Scottish Cup final hurt me. It was probably my lowest moment at Dundee United,” he said.
“I had the belief I was ready for the cup final, so when Jim said he was going for experience instead, it was horrible.
“Even when I was brought on as a sub I was probably trying too hard because I wanted to prove him wrong.”
There was to be a happy ending – of sorts.
The following year United made it back to the final and this time McLean started with Gallacher in the team, a decision he saw rewarded when the forward smashed a stunning goal to put the Tangerines up against their opponents Celtic.
As in ’87, it wasn’t to be their day, with Hoops striker Frank McAvennie scoring twice late on to hand McLean another showpiece defeat.
“Celtic were a funny one for me,” said Gallacher.
“With my family background, everyone assumed I would join them.
“But my grandfather had passed on a warning to all the relatives to be careful about going there because we would always have been compared to him.