Thomas Courts says there’s a lot more to come from his Dundee United side after a 1-1 pre-season draw with Cowdenbeath.
Lawrence Shankland got United’s goal, firing home a free-kick from the edge of the box, in a closed-doors game at the club’s St Andrews training ground.
The Tangerines fielded two different XIs in each half, minus young goalkeeper Ruairidh McAdams who played the full 90.
🎥 The preparation for the new season ramped up last night as the boys got their first taste of game time against Cowdenbeath#UnitedTogether pic.twitter.com/hCAufMA8uA
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) July 1, 2021
Most of the first team and some younger talent got a run out against Gary Bollan’s League Two men for the Terrors’ first friendly match of the summer.
Injured men Benjamin Siegrist and Mark Connolly were among the only ones to miss out, with Louis Appere, Ryan Edwards, Declan Glass, Jamie Robson and Adrian Sporle also watching on.
Head coach Courts believes it was a worthwhile exercise as they prepare for their domestic campaign to kick off next Friday night in the Premier Sports Cup at Kelty Hearts.
‘There’s certainly a lot more to come from us’
“I thought it was a really enjoyable game,” the United boss said, speaking to DUTV.
“You always get a bit of a disjointed experience when you change teams at half time but I thought the boys played really well.
“We used the ball well, showed a lot of attacking intent and actually created a number of chances.
“I thought their goalkeeper was probably Man of the Match, to be fair.
“No injuries, a fitness exercise and it was good to see some of the ideas we’ve been working on on the training pitch coming to fruition as well.
“It’s more about performances and less about results.
“It’s also about building momentum to our first competitive game, which is only, essentially, a week away.
“It was great to see Lawrence Shankland getting on the scoresheet, we created numerous chances, had plenty of attacking intent and looked potent high up the pitch.
“As the games keep coming thick and fast I’m sure we’ll tighten it up.
“There’s certainly a lot more to come from us.”
Courts pleased with players’ response
Courts was happy to see his senior pros and young stars complement each other on the pitch and the whole squad taking on board his ideas.
Just a couple of weeks into pre-season training, the 39-year-old gaffer is optimistic about their chances in the new term.
The former Kelty manager added: “There are numerous lads who’ve really impressed and there’s an eagerness to impress.
“There are a number of players here who are here for the right reasons, have had success with the club previously and there’s still mileage in them.
A thing of beauty 😍
Oh and the pre-season kit looking pretty good, too. pic.twitter.com/VBtTmySzTx
— Dundee United FC (@dundeeunitedfc) June 30, 2021
“They want to achieve more so I think, as a collective, we’ve been really pleased with the response we’ve had since we came into the job.
“I know it’s only the start but I feel really optimistic about what we could do together.
“The boys have really taken to the ideas, the work we’re doing on the pitch and also the way we’re trying to build relationships.
“I think that showed on the pitch. There was a good energy about us, work rate and appetite. There was no shortage of quality.
“Some of the young players showed up really well and I think that was allowed to happen because the senior boys gave them the platform to go and put their stamp on the game.”
Tangerines to ‘hone’ selection at Brechin
United head for Brechin on Saturday for another closed-doors game.
Courts says they’ll approach the clash at Glebe Park a little differently with a view to next week’s meeting with Kelty.
“We’ll probably be a little bit more prescriptive with the game-time but now starting to hone team selection and approach towards the Kelty game,” he commented.
“We’ll still manage the minutes, I think that’s important for their legs.
“We also need to make sure we’re starting to prepare for a really important game at Kelty.”