Manager Jackie McNamara feels Dundee United’s derby dominance has been easily forgotten but it doesn’t bother him.
The Tangerines won four out of the five matches against Dundee last season, scoring 15 goals and conceding just six to their rivals.
McNamara has noticed that those memories have faded for many now that a new Premiership campaign is upon us but it is all about the present, not the past, for him.
He said: “We played them five times last season and won four of them.
“We also took a lot of goals off them but that is forgotten.
“That’s football and it is now the new season.
“You don’t think about what happened last year.
“We have to move forward and make sure we get three points off them this time.”
As well as having achieved that proud derby record last season, McNamara is aware that is 11 years since United lost to the Dark Blues at Tannadice.
That was on August 15, 2004, when a Stevie Lovell penalty and John Sutton goal saw the visitors edge out a home side that could only manage a last-minute consolation from Alan Archibald.
Once again, he isn’t placing importance on what has gone before.
He said: “To be honest, I don’t take these things into account.
“The most important thing for me is that we win this one.
“The statistics are great if they are nice and positive from your side of things but I would not go into games worrying about stats, be they about the last time we won or lost.”
Meanwhile, striker Mario Bilate has lost his race against time.
He picked up the latest in a long line of hamstring injuries against Aberdeen and sat out the trip to Motherwell on Saturday.
The Tangerines had hoped he might recover in time to lead the line against the Dark Blues but the derby has come too soon for him.
“Mario is not too far away but because of his injury history we have to be cautious,” said McNamara.
“The last things we want to do is aggravate it more.
“He is feeling better and we will speak with the physio (Jeff Clarke) and see if is there is a chance towards Saturday or maybe next week.
“The most important thing is we wait until he is ready.”
McNamara is also expecting an update on the health of midfielder Rodney Sneijder, who has returned home to the Netherlands to recover from a viral infection.
“We will know possibly more about him sometime this midweek,” he said.
“He just took a viral infection last Wednesday and they kept him in overnight at Ninewells to do some tests.
“I went to see him in hospital the following day he has now gone back to Holland with his dad.
“He will get some tests done and hopefully everything comes back OK.”