DUTV
STORY OF THE MATCH | MOTHERWELL (H)
31st October 2024
Boss Alex Smith was lavish in his praise for everyone connected to Dundee United, after accepting the offer of a contract to formalise his duties for the seasons ahead.
The fans, the players. the coaches, all the staff and the board, were all given pats on the back from Scottish football's most experienced manager. To the supporters, Smith gave the following message; "The fans have been tremendous and we've got a really good relationship with them now. What we need to do next season is continue to work really closely with them. We've proved what we can do when everyone at the club on and off the park pulls together and we must keep that going."
And after such a roller-coaster season, the Manager acknowledged the character shown by his playing staff to eventually fight off the threat of relegation. "The real secret was to 'keep the heid'," he remarked. "In the run-in we never allowed ourselves to lose sight of the fact that we were in control of the situation. We kept it calm and we didn't let the heads go down. The first half against St Johnstone was probably as scary a situation as you'll ever face in football but we showed great character and belief to come back from that - and it's those qualities that we're now going to build on. We've got a young side - the average age is 23 or 24 - with a good blend of skill, hunger, and experience."
Although Tommy McLean has now departed Tannadice to take up his new responsibilities at Ibrox, Wee Tam was included in Smith's praise of the coaching team. He said," It's been a pleasure working with every single member of the coaching staff and they've played a major part in turning the season around. We wish Tommy McLean every success in his new role at Rangers, but I think with Maurice Malpas, Paul Hegarty, and John Blackley, we've got one of the strongest management teams in the country."
And the gaffer thanked the Tannadice Directors for their bravery in appointing him in the first place! He added," I'm very pleased I've been able to justify the faith they had in me - it was brave of the directors to ask me to do the job as I was taking on a big task having been out of club football for a year. United are a well structured club and a very well run club and they are geared for success."
The fans, the players. the coaches, all the staff and the board, were all given pats on the back from Scottish football's most experienced manager. To the supporters, Smith gave the following message; "The fans have been tremendous and we've got a really good relationship with them now. What we need to do next season is continue to work really closely with them. We've proved what we can do when everyone at the club on and off the park pulls together and we must keep that going."
And after such a roller-coaster season, the Manager acknowledged the character shown by his playing staff to eventually fight off the threat of relegation. "The real secret was to 'keep the heid'," he remarked. "In the run-in we never allowed ourselves to lose sight of the fact that we were in control of the situation. We kept it calm and we didn't let the heads go down. The first half against St Johnstone was probably as scary a situation as you'll ever face in football but we showed great character and belief to come back from that - and it's those qualities that we're now going to build on. We've got a young side - the average age is 23 or 24 - with a good blend of skill, hunger, and experience."
Although Tommy McLean has now departed Tannadice to take up his new responsibilities at Ibrox, Wee Tam was included in Smith's praise of the coaching team. He said," It's been a pleasure working with every single member of the coaching staff and they've played a major part in turning the season around. We wish Tommy McLean every success in his new role at Rangers, but I think with Maurice Malpas, Paul Hegarty, and John Blackley, we've got one of the strongest management teams in the country."
And the gaffer thanked the Tannadice Directors for their bravery in appointing him in the first place! He added," I'm very pleased I've been able to justify the faith they had in me - it was brave of the directors to ask me to do the job as I was taking on a big task having been out of club football for a year. United are a well structured club and a very well run club and they are geared for success."
