Robbie Neilson admits he was “blown away” by both quantity and quality of the Dundee United support that turned out for his first game in charge.
And he was delighted to send them back home to Dundee after seeing the Tangerines beat Partick Thistle at Firhill.
Despite torrential rain and lengthy delays on the M8 due to flooding, just under 1,000 Arabs were in the main stand to give him a rousing reception as he headed for the dugout.
And if he seemed startled by that as he appeared from the dressing-room area, it’s because he was.
“When I came out I couldn’t believe there was so many of them,” he said.
“I didn’t realise we’d bring that many. I’ve been to Firhill a few times and they’ve not opened that main stand.
“For Partick to have to open it because of the crowd we brought was brilliant.
“To turn up on a day like that and with the traffic as well was sensational. I couldn’t have asked for any more of them and let’s hope it’s the start of something.”
And he was happy his players responded with a fine performance to secure a 2-1 win that could have been more comfortable.
“I thought the players and the fans were brilliant.
“I thought the first 60 minutes we were in total control but then Partick had the impetus as we started to tire.
“I knew that after 60 or 70 minutes it was going to be difficult for us just because we’ve got Fraser Fyvie coming back from a long-term injury.
“Billy King, Sam Stanton and Callum Booth have all been out as well and Paul McMullan’s not had a lot of game time.
“I could only change three of them so I got as long as I could out of them before I started making changes.
“I knew we’d lose quality, but, thankfully, the two strikers (Nicky Clark and Craig Curran) who came on did well.
“Adam Barton (ex-Partick), as well, he took a lot of stick from the home fans when he came on but he handled that, they all worked hard.
“It’s a great dressing-room in there now. The atmosphere has changed.”
Next up for United are Inverness Caledonian Thistle who head for Tannadice on Saturday for Robbie’s first home game in charge.
And he is keen to make sure the good work from the weekend is continued.
“We have to keep it going and work hard, we don’t want this to be a false dawn.”
Next month members of United’s most famous ever side – the 1983 league-winning team – will be gathering for a special evening to celebrate 35 years since their title-winning success.
The event is taking place at the Whitehall Theatre on Saturday, November 17, and among those players on stage will be Paul Sturrock, Maurice Malpas, Paul Hegarty and John Holt.
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.
