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David Goodwillie has expressed his gratitude to old club Dundee United for helping make his English Premier League dream come true.
Speaking for the first time since his £2.8 million transfer to Blackburn Rovers was completed last week, the Scotland internationalist was keen to acknowledge the part the Tannadice club played in developing his game after he arrived in Tayside as a kid from Carse Thistle.
Goodwillie, who made his Tangerines debut at just 16, said, “Dundee United were fantastic with me and I will always be grateful to the club for giving me my chance.
“I started my career there and it will always be a special place for me. My team-mates there were fantastic and I wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for them.
“United’s result is the first one I will be looking for after our game finishes on a Saturday.”
Goodwillie insisted Ally McCoist was wasting his time by launching a frantic late bid to sign him for Rangers.
There was a furious tug of war between the Ibrox club and Blackburn before the English side prevailed to land him.
Goodwillie was undergoing his medical at Ewood Park while Rangers made a desperate final two offers to United chairman Stephen Thompson, but the player revealed that by that point he’d already made his mind up to head to Lancashire.
He pointed out, “On the Sunday night I knew I wanted to come to Blackburn and all the other stuff was just talk. I knew about Rangers’ interest, but that was it. I was focused on coming to Blackburn.
“Getting the chance to play against the likes of Manchester United every week is hard to ignore.”
Goodwillie was advised by United boss Peter Houston as well as his representatives to move south in order to get out of the spotlight.
He agreed that, after all his off-field problems, moving away from the limelight was best.
He added, “I felt I needed a fresh start in a new country and in a new league. A big factor is being away from the spotlight.
“If I stayed in Scotland I don’t know if I could have gone to Tesco for my shopping without getting hassled.”Best place for me””I spoke to Peter Houston, who has been great with me, and my advisers, and everyone agrees that being down here is the best place for me.
“I don’t want to criticise Scotland, but I think the best thing for me just now is to be down in England playing my football.
“It’s the first time I have been away from Scotland to live and it will take time to settle but I will manage.”
Goodwillie, who goes straight into manager Steve Kean’s squad for tomorrow’s curtain raiser against Wolves, said, “Playing in the Premiership is an exciting challenge.
“I know I need to work hard and give it my best shot. Hopefully I can achieve good things here. I’d like to think I’ll score goals. I just enjoy scoring goals and it makes me feel happy.
“Getting a move straight to the Premier League was a bit of a shock, but it just shows what can happen if you work hard.
“Sometimes it can be difficult when a player joins a new club, but everyone has made me very welcome.
“I have set myself a few targets, but I will keep them close to my chest.
“Hopefully it won’t take me too long to settle in to the Premier League – getting off and running on Saturday would be great.”
Rovers boss Kean revealed that signing Goodwillie was a major close-season priority, and believes the fact they managed to hold off Rangers’ interest shows how highly he rates the striker.
“He was the top young target we had for the summer. The way we fought Rangers all the way shows how serious we were about getting him.”
Kean also claimed Goodwillie can be Scotland’s answer to Manchester United star Wayne Rooney.
He said, “David has been put on a parallel with a young Wayne Rooney, and when you see him playing he can score all types of goals.
“Anyone who has seen David will know he’s a natural finisher. He can score tap-ins, with his head and the ones he makes himself. I don’t think there’s any doubt he’s good enough.”