Dundee United manager Ray McKinnon has praised central defender William Edjenguele for his no-nonsense style of defending.
The big Frenchman has shown since his arrival at Tannadice that he is not afraid to just boot the ball when need be.
It is not that Edjenguele doesn’t have bags of skill because he can pass as well as anyone in the Tangerines’ backline and has been chipping in with goals too.
Rather, he knows when basic defending is what is required – a “skill” much appreciated by McKinnon.
Indeed, the United gaffer, whose side faces Falkirk at Tannadice on Saturday, recalled how even arguably the finest player to ever pull on a tangerine jersey was quick to clear his lines.
McKinnon said: “I think people need to learn to be a centre-half first and foremost and William is a good example of that.
“On Saturday, he stuck a couple of balls in row Z and dealt with problems rather than put the team under pressure.
“I think he is a great example to a young defender like Coll Donaldson, who needs to stop thinking he needs to play too much.
“William is someone who knows his game and doesn’t do anything he doesn’t need to do.
“I remember even the great Dave Narey would kick it out of the park when he needed to.
“Even someone like him had no shame in getting rid of the danger because he knew that was the sensible thing to do.
“You have seen defenders down south like John Stones making mistakes instead of doing basic defending and they have been punished for it.
“You need to defend first and foremost and that’s what William does.
“He has done well for us after we had to be patient and wait to sign him.
“He gives us balance as a left-footed centre-half.
“William has definitely added to the team and the younger lads are learning from him.”
