Despite having options elsewhere, Peter Pawlett insists he never wanted to leave Dundee United.
Pawlett signed a new deal earlier in the year that will keep him at United until 2023 amid interest from other clubs – including Premiership rivals St Johnstone.
The 30-year-old says there was ‘never any doubt’ he’d stay with the Tangerines and is looking forward to the next two years, working under new head coach Thomas Courts.
Pawlett ‘delighted’ to be at United
“I signed a new contract at the club, a new manager has come in and I’m looking forward to it,” Pawlett said.
“I want to try and impact it as much as I can.
“I’m looking forward to the season. Every season is massive and this is no different.
“My contract was up in the summer and I had options elsewhere.
“Dundee United offered me a deal, I enjoy it here, my family are settled and that was it. I’m pleased to get the deal done.
“I can concentrate on Dundee United seeing the best from me and me getting the best for the club.
“There was never any doubt I’d stay.
“I was out of contract and as a footballer there are always going to be other options out there.
“As soon as they heard there were other options, Dundee United showed their hand and I was happy to stay here.
“I enjoy the club, the boys are great and the staff are good. It’s a good football club and I didn’t want to leave.
“What’s the point of leaving somewhere that’s good and somewhere you are happy?
“I’ve got a young family who are settled in school.
“All of these things are a factor so I’m delighted to be here.”
Courts factor another plus for Pete
Having the support of his manager makes life at Tannadice all the better for Pawlett.
Courts labelled the former Aberdeen man as a potential ‘key player’ after the Terrors’ 4-1 pre-season friendly win over Brechin on Saturday.
Pawlett has enjoyed working with the new boss in his early days in the post and is relishing United’s first competitive clash under Courts as they head for Kelty Hearts on Friday night.
“Training has been great so far and everything is fresh,” he added.
“I’ve been under a lot of new managers in my career but his ideas are great. I like the way he speaks and the meetings we are having are really good, too.
“He has fresh ideas and we have to try to take his messages on board.
“The leash is off a bit and we have been told to go and play and go and get touches of the ball, rotate and cause problems for the other team.
“As footballers, you want to attack and score goals but we also know how important it is to be steady at the back and hard to beat.
“When you become hard to beat then you can add quality up front to score.
“Hopefully we can play some nice, attacking stuff this year and be good on the eye, too. I hope we can show that for the fans.
“There will be a lot of media interest on our first game at Kelty.
“Our manager wants to begin his managerial role here with a win and we do, too.”
Linking up with old mate Mulgrew
One man who will be trying to help United get their Premier Sports Cup group stage campaign off to a flier at Kelty will be Charlie Mulgrew.
The experienced former Celtic and Scotland star has impressed his former Dons team-mate Pawlett since checking in at Tannadice, who is hoping Mulgrew can replicate his Pittodrie form.
Pawlett commented: “He has real quality, a great left foot and tactical awareness of the game. He gives us a calmness at the back, he can thread passes through or go over the top.
“He’s a great guy to have around the dressing-room. I played with him before at Aberdeen and he’s a really good guy who is great to have on your side.
“Having Charlie here brings everyone’s levels up. He’s 35 but every day he’s in early and working hard.
“That gives a lot of young lads motivation. They see what he is doing and want to be like him. He’s a good role model for everyone.
“I played against him down south, too, when he was at Blackburn and he’s a very good player.
“He’s great to have in the squad and I look forward to working with him again.”