A veteran of Edinburgh derbies with parent club Hibs, Dundee United loan signing Sam Stanton believes the clash of the Tannadice Street neighbours is a game to be relished every bit as much as the capital affair.
The 23-year-old, on loan from the Hibees for the entire season, was one of the stars as United and Dundee fought out a close tie in the Betfred Cup group stages last Sunday.
And he admits he enjoyed the experience so much, he can’t wait to do it all again in what might just prove an epic second-round clash back at Dens today.
“I loved the first one last weekend, it was a great game to play in. The atmosphere was brilliant and it was a good game,” he said.
“The atmosphere was very similar to the Edinburgh derbies I was involved in and so was the game.
“The tempo was very high and there were plenty big tackles. These are the kind of games you want to play in and it was nice to be involved.
“In the first game we created a lot of chances and I felt it was very even.
“On another day I felt we could have won the game outright and that has to give us confidence going back up there.”
As he prepares to make the short walk between the grounds, Stanton is well aware United’s priority this season very much rests in getting promotion back to the Premiership.
But he refuses to downplay the significance of what facing Dundee in this tie means.
“Winning in the league at Inverness on Saturday was a big result, maybe bigger than the derby.
“Every game, though, is super important to us and that has to include a derby because they are such big games for everyone involved.
“After winning on Saturday we can treat the derby as being important as that was and I am really looking forward to it.”
And winning away to a side who are expected to be one of United’s main promotion rivals in the months ahead means, he believes, he and his team-mates will go into today rightly feeling confident.
“We put a marker down up there. Inverness will be a very difficult place to go for every team in the league I would imagine, so we’ve got to be happy with a win.
“I didn’t think we played as well as we can but we still created a lot of chances.
“The main thing was to get a win and we did that. We had to work hard for the points because they looked a good team as well and I think they will be right up there challenging this season.
“They’ve managed to keep some good players there even after coming down, so it has to go down as a very good win for us.
“They had a bit of pressure in the second half but I felt we coped well and we had some good opportunities ourselves.
“I had a couple of chances myself to seal the game for us and I felt I should have taken them.
“There was one when the ball came out from their keeper after Paul McMullan played the ball through for James Keatings.
“It came at me quick and I think I was a bit surprised the keeper didn’t pick the ball up because it wasn’t a pass back but I felt I should still have scored.
“It wasn’t to be and we won and that was the main thing.
“This is a very difficult league, I know that, and it’s always hard going away from home and getting victories, so one at a place like that has to be big.
“It’s one that gives us confidence for the derby and the games to come in the league.”
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