Dundee United wideman Fraser Aird has revealed that the club’s goal is to get promoted the St Mirren way.
Aird, then wearing a Dunfermline strip, suffered play-off agony against the Tangerines last season before United themselves fell to Livingston.
The pressure of the knockout matches was something that the Buddies avoided, having clinched the Championship title by an impressive 12 points.
Aird (23) knows which pathway he prefers and automatic promotion is his and his new team’s aim for the campaign ahead.
The Canadian international said: “The fans will be disappointed to have spent two years in the Championship.
“Dundee United have been in the Premiership for so long and hopefully we can get back up.
“The manager has put together a good squad capable of doing that.
“We don’t want to be in the play-offs like the last two years.
“We want to be like St Mirren last year.
“They got off to a good start and ran away with the league. That’s everyone’s goal.
“I’m delighted to get the opportunity to come here and sign a two-year deal.
“I spoke to the manager and got his thoughts on what he wanted to do this season.
“I have been in the Championship the last year and a half and I want to play at the highest level I can.
“Hopefully, we can go and do the business and get back to the top flight.”
While the goal is to get ahead in the title race and stay there, Aird appreciates that coming out on top will be extremely difficult.
He added: “I think the Championship is always a tough league.
“In the Premiership you can kind of guess where teams are going to finish in the league.
“But this year in the Championship you won’t be able to do that.
“All the teams have added to their squads and everyone’s goal will be to win the title and get automatic promotion.
‘We’ve had Ross County come down and Partick get relegated too.
“These are teams who have played in the Premiership and have a lot of experience.
“But do they know what the Championship is like? Maybe not.
“We will see how they do but we have put together a squad with experience and youth and hopefully we can do the business.”
Like most of us, Aird has been enjoying the World Cup and is particularly excited about the prospect of the greatest show on earth being hosted by Canada in 2026, in partnership with the United States and Mexico.
Aird said: ‘It’s a great opportunity for the country.
“It’s massive for the nation.
“There will be eight games played in Canada and the rest in America and Mexico.
“I would love it if we got automatic qualification.
“I’ll be 31 by then and hopefully still kicking a ball somewhere and still with the national team.
“Football is getting bigger and bigger in Canada.
“Hopefully, hosting the World Cup can see football kick on as a sport.
“We had Mexico and Panama in our group and both went on to reach the World Cup. We finished third of five so it was tough to miss out on Russia.”
