What a start to the season for Jim Goodwin and his Dundee United team.
I just hope fans aren’t expecting every game to be quite so straightforward as the 4-0 thumping of Arbroath!
Already I can see this coming fixture against Dunfermline requiring a bit of patience both on the pitch and off it.
But what a difference in United over just a couple of weeks.
Spartans away is already long-forgotten.
Speed
Friday’s was a performance full of quality and the ball was moved at a tempo we just didn’t see last season.
Last term the Tangerines were pedestrian in possession.
There was none of that.
The ball was moved with purpose and there was a real intensity about everything United did.
There’s a trap that sides can fall into in the Championship in allowing the opposition to dictate the way a game is played.
Dragging the pace and skill-level of a contest down to a level they are comfortable with.
United’s first-half display saw them play the game at their pace, the tempo they wanted things to happen at and Arbroath couldn’t handle it.
It was night and day from what we’ve seen at Dundee United in a long, long time now.
You had Louis Moult impressing, Mathew Cudjoe was excellent and pretty much everyone was on it.
It’s a very promising start but there can be no getting carried away with just one good result.
Different prospect
As I say, Dunfermline will be different prospect this weekend.
The Pars are a big club and they’ll bring a decent away following.
Coming into the season as League One winners, they’ll still be on a high. Especially after beating Airdrie in their opening game.
And there are so many banana skins waiting for teams to slip up on in this division.
This will be a different proposition but it’s important to kick off your home form in the right way.
Backbone
And the beauty of signing players who know the Championship inside out like Ross Docherty and Kevin Holt is they’ll not let their team-mates get complacent.
Docherty, in particular, impressed me against Arbroath.
I thought at the time he signed, he’d be an important capture for Jim Goodwin.
He proved that on Friday.
To me, United have a backbone they just didn’t have last season.
Literally and figuratively.
Goodwin made clear he wanted players with ability but crucially with the type of character that’s right for not only United but the division.
That’s one reason why I don’t see Friday’s win as a one-off.
What we’re seeing now is the problems in the cup were the one-off.
It’s important United keep things going – maintain that sort of level and the Championship won’t be able to live with them.
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