LEE WILKIE: Mathew Cudjoe succeeding at walking his talk for Dundee United – they need more of his ‘cockiness’

Dundee United fans are looking for their team to be the best in the Championship this season.

So reading Mathew Cudjoe’s personal target for the campaign must have been music to their ears.

After scoring United’s last gasp equaliser against Dunfermline, the wee man cut a confident figure in front of reporters, declaring himself determined to prove himself the top player in the league.

I love to hear that sort of thing from a young attacker.

To be successful up at that end of the park – maybe more so than anywhere else on the pitch – you need to be ‘having yourself’ a bit

That wee bit of cockiness is what gives these players the fuel to go and play off the cuff, to try things that other players wouldn’t, to back themselves when the pressure is on.

That was certainly the case at Tannadice when, with five minutes of injury time played, Cudjoe collected Craig Sibbald’s inside pass and opened his body toward the goal.

Watching it back, I’m not sure his second touch does exactly what he wanted it to.

With defenders closing in, all the 19-year-old could do was strike the ball with his left foot.

But my word he struck it well.

It was well-placed and powerful. There’s not a keeper in the league that would have saved that.

It says an awful lot about Cudjoe’s mentality, that he kept on looking for the ball in forward areas right through to the death.

The finish is the product of his ability, which United fans have never been in doubt about.

The difference this season, from what little I’ve seen up to now, is that his ability and mentality are working hand in hand.

That has lifted the teenager up a level.

The fact he’s targeting even better things can only be a good thing for United.

And the praise I’ve given to Cudjoe on the mentality front is just as applicable to the side as a whole in that Dunfermline clash.

James McPake’s side look a decent team and they’ve come into the league off the back of winning promotion.

They’ll be high on self-belief. And I think we saw that at Tannadice.

Last season, I’m not sure United would have come back from falling behind.

This time around, they kept to their task until the bitter end, kept playing football, kept refusing to let the Pars breathe.

They got their reward.

So while before the game, United would have been looking for a win, the way they took a point, for me, is a big positive.

After two games, we know Jim Goodwin’s team is attack-minded, we know they’ve got dangerous players at the top end of the pitch and we know they will never say die.

There’s a very long way to go yet. But these are the things title-winners are made of.