If Nick van der Velden could use just one word to describe his growing appreciation of Scottish football since his arrival from Holland last month, it’s a safe bet it would be “respect”.
It crops up repeatedly when he speaks about his time so far at Dundee United.
The 34-year-old has plenty of it for fans on this side of the North Sea, who he believes create an even better atmosphere than he’s been used to in his long career back home in the Netherlands.
And he’s also pleased to report the respect he’s been given as a senior pro easily outweighs anything he’s experienced on the Continent.
Taking the fans first, the eloquent Dutchman describes Scottish fans as people who live and breathe their football.
For anyone who’s been to games in his homeland, that will come as something of a surprise.
As a rule, Dutch grounds are more modern than those here but the stands tend to be close to the playing surfaces.
The fans there love their football but Van der Velden believes there’s passion and there’s real passion. The level in Scotland takes his breath away.
“The atmosphere of the stadiums and the fans is really nice. It’s my first year outside of Holland and I am really enjoying it,” he said.
“I think the fans here are louder and more intense. It is very intense.
“You have some teams in Holland, like Groningen, where the fans are intense but here at every team the fans live for their soccer.
“I love that because I love football. I play with my heart and put that out on the field, and the fans here shout with their heart.
“The passion is amazing. You hear it when you have not done well but that is worth it because when you do well you can hear and feel how much the fans enjoy what you’ve done.
“It is a help because we are on a mission to go up from this really hard league and the fans are helping.”
Just as pleasing to the man whose clubs back home included NEC, AZ Alkmaar and Groningen is the attitude of players here. Holland may have given us total football but he believes a lot of players there could learn from their Scottish counterparts.
“Players here, I like their mindset. They are open to ideas and they work hard on their game and their strength.
“Harder than I have seen in Holland, they are like ‘every day we go with all we’ve got’ and I like this.
“There is also a respect from the young players you don’t see in Holland.
“Back home their attitude is don’t tell me what to do, don’t give advice — I don’t want to hear it.
“I’m 34, if I tried to give a player of 19 advice he’d just say ‘go away, don’t tell me anything’.
“In Scotland there is much more respect from the young players. They want to speak to you and they want to learn from you.
“This can only be a good thing because these young players want to learn and that helps make them better.”
One thing his home and adopted countries share is the desire to win matches.
Now United are off the mark in the Championship, when it comes to that, he is determined to keep that going when surprise league leaders Raith Rovers come calling on Saturday.
Van der Velden is aware of their fine start and the link between gaffer Ray McKinnon and the men from Kirkcaldy.
For him only one thing matters.
“On Saturday we are against the team that is top now and it was the manager’s old club.
“We have to go for three points and that is the most important thing, not who the team is that we play.”
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