Dundee United derby hero Gary Mackay-Steven is already ahead of the game when it comes to New Year resolutions.
His big wish as the bells rang out to welcome 2015 was to score more goals.
Well he wasted little time in making that come true as he found the net twice in a man-of-the-match display in the 6-2 drubbing of Dundee at Tannadice on Thursday.
Now Mackay-Steven is hoping United’s big dream comes true, with the Tangerines looking to consistently hit the high standards they reached in ripping apart the Dark Blues’ defence.
For their problem has been failing to follow-up big results like the Dundee one and the win over Celtic.
Instead, their form deserted them in defeats against Aberdeen and St Johnstone last month.
Now, as they prepare to travel to Firhill tomorrow to take on Partick Thistle, United are desperate to keep hold of the good stuff and get rid of the bad.
“To score six times in a derby was a good feeling,” said Mackay-Steven, who personally grabbed United’s second and fourth goals at Tannadice.
“We definitely started the New Year well.
“Someone told me after the game that it was the first time we had scored six against Dundee so that was great.
“It was good be involved in something like that.
“One of my New Year resolutions was to score more goals so that’s gone well so far!
“The first goal was one of those where I was aiming for the back post. If someone got a touch then great but thankfully it went into the top corner.
“At the second one it was a great ball from Stuart Armstrong that sent me clear.
“So it is all about getting into good positions and making the goalkeeper work.
“Attack was the best form of defence for us in the derby.
“Even at half-time when we were 4-1 up we didn’t want to shut up shop.
“We wanted to go forward and keep playing in their half.
“It is a good start to the year for us and hopefully we can keep it going.
“We need consistency now if we are going to finish up at the top end of the table.
“We are looking ahead to the Partick match and will be trying to keep the momentum going.”
The taste of victory in the derby was all the sweeter for Mackay-Steven because of the stop-start nature of his season, having only returned to face Dundee after recovering from a heavy cold.
“Obviously, I have not played as much as I would have liked,” he said.
“It has just been a case of biding my time and making the most of chances like the derby.
“I was given the nod against Dundee and was right up for it.”
The Tangerines go into the Jags clash in third spot, just two points behind Celtic and three behind leaders Aberdeen, and confidence is understandably sky-high.
“We are playing well as a team and the standard is very good here,” added Mackay-Steven.
“We are not too far away from Celtic right now but in recent seasons they have tended to pull away.
“Celtic have shown year in, year out how strong they are but we can push for second place, certainly, and try to finish as high up the table as we can.
“We are happy with our form overall and have a happy dressing-room but, as I have stressed, we do need to be more consistent.”