Dundee United’s players have been told not to dwell on the past as they look forward to the start of the new season.
The Tangerines had a traumatic time as they crashed out of the Premiership, with the final ignominy being a defeat to city rivals Dundee that sent them down at Dens Park.
Now, though, with the Championship campaign getting under way against Queen of the South at Tannadice tomorrow, manager Ray McKinnon has stressed that those dark days should be consigned to the history books.
“There is nothing to be gained from discussing last season,” said McKinnon.
“What has happened is done and in the past.
“What is important now for United is to have us moving forward as a team and I think there is improvement in the side.
“We are fully focused on what we’re doing as a coaching staff, players and team.
“That is all we are interested in now.
“We want to be improving all the time and hopefully getting results.”
McKinnon has done his homework on the Doonhamers and is expecting a battle on day one of the league season.
He said: “We have had Queen of the South watched a few times and they will be a tough team to beat.
“They have been really consistent in the Championship over the last few years and they will be that again this season.
“They have an experienced squad and a good manager, so we will have to be fully focused on it this weekend.
“We will get an indication of what this league is all about and it will be tough.
“Teams will get a lift coming here, of course they will, because a lot of the players won’t have played at Tannadice for a while.
“Getting off to a good start is crucial so we need to keep playing the way we have so far.
“It’s a really tough division, last season’s scores show you that.
“Rangers struggled after their first 10 games. You look at it and there were a lot of 1-0 wins and late goals.
“It wasn’t easy for them because it’s hard to break teams down in this league.
“They sat in and defended against them so it was a slog.
“The thing to realise is that you have to earn every point.
“I think teams will come and have a go at us a bit more than they did to Rangers but it’s still going to be very difficult.”
Helping United to cope with the challenges ahead will be the supporters, with McKinnon keen to praise them for staying behind the side despite the drop down a division.
“We have a magnificent fanbase,” said the Tangerines boss.
“We had over 5,000 at the game last Sunday, even though it was pay at the gate and live on TV.
“That just shows the support we’ve got.
“They have been brilliant and hopefully we can keep getting results for them.”
Meanwhile, McKinnon has now dropped his interest in Peterhead striker Rory McAllister.
United did approach the Blue Toon looking to chat with the player but they will not be going any further.
Concerns over the extent of Paul Dixon’s knee injury have given McKinnon pause for thought, as he may need to find cover for left-back.
Trialist central defender Christian Supusepa played in a closed-door game against Forfar in midweek and McKinnon will make a decision on him in due course.
United’s opponents Queens have pulled off a major coup by re-signing former striker Stephen Dobbie from Bolton.
The 33-year-old left Palmerston for Swansea City in 2009 and has also played for Blackpool, Brighton, Crystal Palace, Fleetwood Town, Rangers, Hibs and St Johnstone
Dobbie said: “I had a few things in the pipeline but as soon as I knew Queens were interested it was just a matter of getting it done.”
