Lawrence Shankland has given Dundee United fans a massive boost by saying how much he is looking forward to playing for them in the Premiership.
Shankland is due to become a father for the first time in October with partner Nicole and with that added responsibility, he hopes, will come maturity as a top-flight player.
The now 24-year-old did feature in Scotland’s big league for Aberdeen for four seasons up to 2017.
Almost unbelievably, given what he has achieved since, Shankland failed to score for the Dons in 17 appearances.
With words that will warm the heart of every United supporter, he said how much he is looking forward to returning with the newly-promoted Tangerines.
He said: “I’m delighted to be going back to that level and giving it a bash.
“When I see pictures of myself from my time at Aberdeen, I was a kid back then.
“I was this baby-faced guy with bad acne and I didn’t look a Premiership player.
“When I look at the bigger picture, I feel I’m ready for the Premiership now.
“I’m better prepared for it and I have grown up a lot since then.
“We have had a tough few years in the Championship so to be part of the squad that’s taken us up to the top league is great.
“I am looking forward to some big games against all the top teams in the Premiership.”
Parenthood will mean everything to the Scotland international and it appears he may not be in a hurry to up sticks and move despite the likely interest that will be shown in him before the game restarts.
Shankland, who was speaking to the Scottish Sun, added: “I’m going to be a dad in October and I’m looking forward to that.
“I was delighted when Nicole told me and it was a nice surprise for us both.
“I’ll be a hands-on dad. Maybe not on a Friday night before a game mind you, as I will need my rest!
“No, seriously, I can’t wait and it’s given us something to look forward to in these tough times of lockdown.
“The baby news tops off another good season.
“The objective was to get promoted and we have managed to achieve what we set out to do.
“I scored four goals in my first league game. That was a real boost and I kicked on from there.
“Every striker likes to score for a new club as soon as possible. I scored against Hearts in the Betfred Cup on my debut as well.
“I’d had a good few years for Ayr and I know people were expecting me to score right away at United and, thankfully, that happened.
“Last summer, if someone had said I’d beat my league goal tally and get an international call-up, I wouldn’t have believed them. To get a few Scotland caps was the icing on the cake.
“When I went to Dundee United people questioned if it was the right move for me,” he added.
“There were rumours of all sorts of clubs being interested and some people said I had no ambition by going to United.
“I’m the type of person who goes with their gut and I felt it was the right thing to do.
“It was a challenge but one I wanted to take on and it has paid off.
“I had options last summer but this is a huge club and one I felt would be a good fit for me. I was proved right.”
Dundee United joint-owner Scott Ogren would prefer to play in 12-team Premiership next season
