Tyler French expects “no love lost” when he takes to the Tannadice pitch this Saturday.
He may be wearing a Greenock Morton shirt but Dundee United fans are unlikely ignore an on-loan Dundee man in opposition.
The 24-year-old joined Ton on a season-long loan on Tuesday as he makes his return from nine months out with a broken leg.
And his first-team comeback could well be at the home of Dundee’s fiercest rivals Dundee United this Saturday.
The Tangerines have started the Championship campaign in fine fashion, dropping just two points from the first four games.
Morton, meanwhile, have just three points from their start and French expects a tough test for Dougie Imrie’s side.
As well as a taste of the Dundee-United rivalry.
“I know how much football means to the city, on both sides and I know the rivalry that’s there,” he told the Greenock Telegraph.
“We obviously won the league at Dundee last season, whilst it was the complete opposite just down the road.
“There’s going to be a great expectation on United to get results this season to bounce back so it’s up to us at Morton to try and live with the underdog and do what we can to try and get a result.”
He added: “There’s going to be no love lost, none at all. It’s a conversation that we had, the gaffer and I, when there was first interest that there was a game coming up against Dundee United.
“It’s probably the biggest game of the season, away at Tannadice.
“The game is one I wanted to play in and one I want to win, so I was keen to get things done as soon as possible.”
Making up for lost time
French has played 90 minutes for Dundee’s B team in the SPFL Trust Trophy, turned out for their reserves and a bounce game against Aberdeen last week.
And he says he’s ready to get going again after making the switch from Dens Park.
“I’d probably say it’s been around nine months now with a really bad injury and getting back,” French added.
“I feel really good now so I just want to get back out there and keep doing what I do best and that’s playing football.
“The second half of the season was really tough, I was playing pretty much every game up until I’d gotten injured. I was playing well too, so I was hoping to go on and have a good impact in that run-in.
“So having to sit and watch those games as Dundee got over the line to win the league, on a personal level it was really tough because those are the games you want to be involved in
“But it was amazing that the club achieved what they did to go straight back up.
“I’ll take the experience and bring what I can to this squad going forward.
“I want to really make the most of the chance I’ve got here, help the team and hopefully make up for lost time.”
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