Sam Stanton has seen a lot of good friends leave Dundee United over the summer but, rather than looking back, the midfielder admits he excited about what lies ahead.
One of the few survivors of the major cull that followed another failure to win promotion, he remains very much a part of gaffer Csaba Laszlo’s plans.
And that suits the 24-year-old down to the ground.
“I’ve never experienced so many changes in a dressing-room before but you just get on with it and look ahead,” said the former Hibs man.
“It’s always like that in football and you get used to it after a while. There’s a lot of chopping and changing.
“The main thing is all the new boys that have come in are looking good. Obviously, you miss the guys who were here before and have left but that’s just football, it’s a good change.
“And I’ve really enjoyed my time here, bar the end of last season, so I’m delighted to still be here and part of things. Hopefully, I can have a good season.”
While it’s still early days, Stanton believes there are signs United can make it third time lucky and win promotion this term.
He’s been impressed by the quality of his new team-mates and with the way the side appears to be gelling.
“At Brechin the other night we came together well and we moved the ball about pretty nicely considering it was the first game.
“We are pretty fit and we’re feeling good. Everyone seems to be fitting in well and that was pleasing.
“The manager’s brought in a lot of good players, so it’s exciting and we’re looking forward to the season starting.
“It was a good start at Brechin and, hopefully, it will get better.”
Today the Tangerines were in action in a closed-door friendly at their St Andrews training base and a week today sees the Betfred Cup kick off with a group tie against Arbroath at Tannadice.
While the league is the priority, Stanton’s looking forward to that.
“It’s only a few weeks until the league starts up and I’m really looking forward to it.
“We’ve got the Betfred Cup starting next week and that’s good. Almost all the teams use it as part of their pre-season but we want to do well.”
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