Dundee United’s Tangerine trailblazers are ready to make yet more history.
Graeme Hart’s side welcome Aberdeen to Tannadice on Sunday — the FIRST top-flight women’s fixture to take place at the home of the Terrors.
United have thrived in their maiden campaign at this level, sitting eighth in SWPL1 following last weekend’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Spartans.
It has been a meteoric rise since the team’s inception in 2016.
Now officially affiliated with the football club — they were superbly supported by the Dundee United Community Trust in previous years — the women’s team have been a silver lining to a forgettable campaign for watching Arabs.
“We’ve competed with the sides around us and done ourselves justice,” Hart told Courier Sport.
“Even against Hearts and Hibs, who have invested heavily, we did ourselves proud.
“We’ve probably matched the expectations we set ourselves — because we always aim high.
“Rangers, Glasgow City and Celtic (all defeats) were good reference points of where we would love to get to.
“The investment they have is quite a bit away from us but we will always believe we can compete on any given day.”
Full-time future?
As Hart acknowledges, bridging the gap to the top sides in SWPL1 is an onerous task.
Celtic and Rangers are full-time, lavishly-backed operations. Glasgow City are a heavyweight. Hearts possess a budget roughly 10 times that of United and are making a real push for success under boss Eva Olid.
The Tangerines, meanwhile, are making “baby steps”.
The prime objective is to stabilise in the top-tier, build interest and grow revenue on the road to self-sustainability.
However, in the fullness of time, Hart allows himself to aspire to a full-time future.
“That is certainly a dream we can have,” added Hart.
“It is something you evaluate constantly and then, after three years, look at how far away you are from that model.
“A lot of that depends on the growth and the revenue. The better we do, the more joy we get on the pitch and success we have; that can only bring more people through the door and attract interest and sponsors.
“We need to do our job from a coaching and playing perspective and hopefully that will lead to some really big opportunities further down the line.
“We are aiming to build over a number of years.
“Whether it is football or another industry, having a plan for growth and sustainability is the right way to go about things.
“It’s baby steps, if you want to put it like that, rather than one big jump.”
Club backing
Hart added: “We’ve had more support than ever. That is helpful and beneficial as we go on this journey.
“There will be mistakes made along the way — on and off the pitch — but the support has been excellent. I couldn’t ask for any more.
“Tony (Asghar, sporting director) has been great with us. We have had a number of meetings and the hierarchy of the club have put a lot of time aside to keep those lines of communication open.”
And Sunday’s visit of Aberdeen will be a fitting reward for United’s players, with hopes that the attendance could beat the women’s team’s previous record of 726 at Tannadice.
That was set when United lifted the SWPL2 trophy in May.
“We’ve actually got a really good record at Gussie Park — so I’m just hoping that continues at Tannadice,” laughed Hart.
“No, it’s a fantastic reward for the players.
“When we are training and playing at Gussie Park, we see the lights of Tannadice, so the opportunity to play at the home of Dundee United will be a great experience.”
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