First Team

GLENN MIDDLETON | I'VE LOVED THIS SEASON

26th January 2024

Dundee United forward Glenn Middleton claims the buoyant atmosphere permeating throughout the club has brought the best of his talents to the fore this season.

END PRODUCT FLOWING

Enjoying the best statistical season of his senior career by a considerable distance, the 24-year-old currently tops the assist charts for all four professional divisions in Scottish football having teed up his teammates no fewer than ten times in 2023/24.

30% of all United’s league goals have involved Middleton in one way or another, also ranking second for the second-tier’s key passes metric, with 21 in 20 appearances so far this term.

And according to the SPFL’s Assist King, a positive culture in and around Tannadice has aided his efforts to rack up the goal contributions.

“Personally, I’ve loved this season,” he began.

“It's a really good group of lads. Coming in every day into training - it's something that you want to be a part of. When it gets to the weekend it’s no different. 

“There's a real good buzz around the place. We've had a week without a game there, so we've had a little bit of downtime. But at the same time, we've worked hard as well and the manager has refreshed a few ideas in our head. So it'll be good to kick on again.”

STANDARDS DRIVEN

The business end of the season is fast approaching. Just 16 fixtures remain for United to ensure they finish the campaign top of the Championship pile and secure a return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

Despite the frequently jovial tangerine mood, Middleton reaffirmed standards are continuously driven internally, with avoiding complacency high on the Tannadice agenda. 

“The manager's reiterated that there's no time that we can take our foot off the gas. He’s not sugarcoating either - we know what's ahead. We know we've got 16 games left It’s over to us to carry out the job at hand.

“There's no one in the changing room that’s let the club down in any way so far this season - the standards throughout the season have been have been top. We come in every day and the manager is very strict in terms of what's required of us - we come in to work. 

“He’s very good with us away from the pitch as well. It’s over to us when it comes to matchdays to carry out the task at hand.”

Middleton’s admiration for boss Jim Goodwin is well-founded. Our number 15 has played more minutes under Goodwin than for any other manager in his career to date, with 2,515.

Since September, he has played the entirety of every second-tier match in which United have competed.

He continued: “There's no room to slip up. Of course, we've had a couple of results that were a little bit frustrating but over the piece, the standards have been very high. This weekend, we’ll just try to carry on the form we find ourselves in.

“The amount of goals we have scored is very good. I think we've shown all season how much of a threat we can be going forward. We've been solid at the back as well. The game at hand will take care of itself. This weekend is about getting back into our rhythm and back into what we’ve been working on this week to get three points.

PARS PACK THE BOX

Matchday 22 brings Dunfermline Athletic to the city of Discovery. A known quantity, the Pars have given United a run for their money in both league meetings this season. 

Raising the curtains on Championship proceedings at home, the Terrors required a 95th-minute Mathew Cudjoe stunner to rescue a point, whilst Chris Mochrie’s cool finish in November gave us a late victory at East End Park in a closely-contested encounter.

The former saw United face a tightly-packed final third marshalled impeccably well by James McPake’s well-drilled charges, and the former Scotland U21 international states ensuring opportunities are capitalised on without hesitation will be vital in avoiding an afternoon of similar frustration.

“They are very compact in defence - it’ll be tough to break them down so it’s over to us to be ruthless when we get the chances. We've worked hard this week on creating overloads and other ways, I won't give too much away!

“It'll be another tough game - there have been no easy games against them this season,” he continued. They've always been pretty close, especially in the league, and it will be over to us to carry out the game plan that we've worked on.”

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Hear the latest from Jim Goodwin ahead of tomorrow's clash with Dunfermline Athletic as he addresses the broadcast media at the DUFC Training Centre!

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