Dundee United head coach Thomas Courts says he and new signing Charlie Mulgrew have a shared vision for tangerine success.
United have snapped up the former Celtic and Scotland star on a two-year deal after his departure from Blackburn Rovers.
The 35-year-old defender will bring vast Premiership experience to new boss Courts’ squad, having won seven major titles in his time at Parkhead.
The Terrors gaffer can’t wait to get to work with the Scotland skipper – his first acquisition in the Tannadice hotseat.
“The good thing for me is that Charlie has won this league five times so he has a winning pedigree,” Courts said.
“He still has a strong desire to have a real impact on the pitch for us.
“He is renowned for his leadership qualities and he can also inject a bit of personality into our squad.
“I am very fortunate that there is a real good group of core players and he will fit into that and add his experience on top.
“I am really excited by his qualities and the fact he knows this league inside out.”
Mulgrew will have coaching and mentoring remit
Courts believes the 44-times capped former Aberdeen and Wolves man has bought into the club’s strategy.
Namely, that is developing young players and Mulgrew working on himself as a coach.
Courts continued: “It is one from my perspective that, when you can recruit a player with Charlie’s qualities, it is important because we have a lot of young players here.
“We need to give them access to players who have had different types of journeys and somebody who is a winner like Charlie and has represented his country at regular intervals.
“I spent an hour and 40 minutes with Charlie. It was two or three days after I was announced into the position.
“It was really important for me.
“Nothing was concluded and it was good to see there was a connection between us and a mutual understanding of what our requirements were and how we were going to move forward.
“I feel he will fit in seamlessly here on the pitch and we can plug into his experience for our youngsters and his culture.
“It is a two-year contract but from Charlie’s perspective he wants to educate himself as a coach.
“He has only taken a few sessions with the Blackburn youth team but he has a strong desire to learn.
“It would be an organic process with his playing over the next couple of years.”
Long-time Tangerines target
Revealing how the move came about, the 39-year-old former Kelty boss says Mulgrew’s name has been banded about recruitment meetings for some time now.
Even prior to him becoming the manager at Tannadice last week, the experienced Scot was on Courts’ radar.
“We have a committee-type approach to transfers,” he added.
“If you go back to the opposition work I did here, even at that juncture there was the opportunity to sit in on those meetings, to speak about targets from the opposition scouting.
“Charlie’s name has been a regular discussion and even under the previous management team.
“To minimise any disruption there is still a continuity and clarity if a manager leaves as happened to us this summer.
“It allows us to keep the wheels in motion.”
United in ‘early stages’ with Doyle-Hayes
As revealed by Courier Sport, another target for Courts’ new-look United is St Mirren midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes.
The 22-year-old Irish midfielder, formerly of Aston Villa, is a free agent after the expiry of his contract in Paisley.
The Buddies have put an offer on the table for the youngster but United, too, are in the early stages of talks and the race for his signature.
Courts commented: “Jake is someone who was part of that opposition and future recruitment work we did.
“We highly recommended Jake to the club. I think he fits the profile of the type of player we like at the club.
“He is on an upward trajectory and he is highly ambitious.
“There has been dialogue there but we are at the early stages of that just now.”
EXCLUSIVE: Dundee United in the race to sign St Mirren midfielder Jake Doyle-Hayes