Dundee United defender Brian McLean would love the city derby to be a permanent fixture in the SPL schedule.
McLean was part of the Tangerines team that walked up the road to Dens Park on Sunday then came back down again with a 3-0 win.
The superb atmosphere certainly left its impression on the former Motherwell and Rangers man and he wants more derbies in future.
McLean said: ”It was a privilege to play in such an occasion. It showed that the SPL really needs this derby so we are really hoping that Dundee can stay up.
”I was on the bench a couple of times for Rangers during Old Firm games but that’s nothing compared to being actually involved in a Dundee derby.
”Now I can’t wait for the ‘return leg’ at Tannadice because it’s the sort of game which gets everyone buzzing.”
McLean was at the centre of controversy when a John Baird cross struck him on the arm inside the penalty area but referee Willie Collum ignored Dundee’s appeals.
He thinks Collum got it spot on. The defender recalled: ”I couldn’t really see the ball. I was just trying to anticipate where the ball was going to go. My arm was at my side at all times and I was quite conscious of that.
”I’ve been penalised for daft penalty decisions in recent years which I’m aware of. So in that respect I didn’t think it was a penalty.
”It was right in line with my body. There was noting untoward and there was no movement towards the ball. I thought it was the right decision from the referee.
”I could see where Dundee were coming from in terms of the penalty claim because we were under the cosh a bit at that time and we got what was an important decision in our favour. In saying that, we managed to get the goals at the right time to secure the victory.
”They sort of huffed and puffed and had a lot of possession early on and their boy (Steven) Milne had a great opportunity in the first half. However, that was probably about what they had to offer.
”It was quite a professional performance from us. We did what we needed to do so were happy to come away from Dens with three points.”
The victory wasn’t quite enough to take United into the top six but if they beat Inverness Caley Thistle on Saturday they will be only two points behind the high-flying Highlanders. So there is a determination at Tannadice to use the derby success as a spur.
McLean said: ”We want to kick on from here. It’s not that we’ve been playing badly, it’s been more a case of us making little mistakes which had been letting the opposition take the lead. We managed to eradicate that on Sunday though.
”We’re concentrating on getting off to a bright start and keeping it going for the whole 90 minutes.
”It seems everyone is hoping to get second spot in the league this season. We’re no different. There’s no reason why we can’t challenge for that second place.
”When you look at the table you see how tight it really is. If we can go on a wee run over the Christmas period and into the winter break it would be great.
”It would give us a huge boost and the self-belief and confidence would really grow. I know there’s a history of that at United and I noticed that we went on a fantastic unbeaten run in the second half of last season.”
Photo SNS Group