Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

JIM SPENCE: Recruiting Down Under could be the way up for Dundee United

Aziz Behich.
Aziz Behich ha

Dundee United’s dip into the Australian market for a goalkeeper and full-back is a nod in the direction of days past when traffic went the other way.

Dundonians Jimmy Rooney and Kenny Murphy were early pioneers in making the trip to Oz.

Rooney, capped 102 times by Australia (57 A internationals), captained the side on several occasions.

The former Lochee Harp man played in Australia’s first World Cup in Germany in 1974 facing giants like Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller, and is a member of the Hall of Champions of the Football Australia Hall of Fame.

Kenny Murphy appeared once for Dundee United’s first team before playing for Forfar and then emigrating to Australia where he played in 15 A internationals.

There have been some top Aussie players – Harry Kewell, Tim Cahill, and Mark Viduka among them.

Clubs are always searching for relatively untapped markets and United look to have found two top signings in keeper Mark Birighitti and 48 times-capped left-back Aziz Behich.

United’s new keeper says he’s “buzzing that the Scottish league are taking Australians seriously” because “previously I felt that not many Australians were getting that opportunity to showcase what they can do abroad”.

If the Australian pair prove a rich seam is there to mine it could be a significant source for further exploration.


If Dundee can maintain the attitude and energy which has got them off to a flier in the league cup they can hopefully build up an unassailable lead in the Championship. 

I’ve no time for arguments about weak opposition – teams have one requirement, that’s to beat what’s put in front of them.

The Dark Blues have done that, with four group wins,13 goals scored and only two conceded.

A fine start in anyone’s book.

Dundee boss Gary Bowyer.
Dundee boss Gary Bowyer.

It’s a huge season for Gary Bowyers side.

The Premiership is the aim and there’s no room for failure.

The signs at Dens are encouraging and an opening day win over Partick would confirm that auspicious start.


St Johnstone’s decision to award Murray Davidson a testimonial is a sound one.

Folk outside football will complain that they don’t get special deals from their employers but in football where players can move on every couple of years loyalty is underrated

The midfielder has given a decade of unstinting effort and will have made a decent living but not one which will let him put his feet up in retirement and never have to graft again.

A testimonial recognises his lengthy commitment while hopefully giving him a wee financial boost once his career is over and he has to find another livelihood.

It also shows that faithfulness and long service, instead of constantly chasing moves and extra money, can be worthwhile.

And crucially, it strengthens the bond between club and fans, many of whom will get involved in the testimonial activities for a man who has never been shy to put his body on the line for the Saints cause.

Davidson still has plenty to offer Saints, who have strengthened impressively, to hopefully put last season’s tortuous league travails behind them.

He’s well worth his testimonial.

Conversation