Louis Moult insists he is still being driven by a desire to prove the doubters wrong.
The 31-year-old endured a torrid time with injury in the last few seasons, needing three knee operations and further surgery on his ankle.
Despite that, Dundee United boss Jim Goodwin snapped up Moult in July and the manager’s faith in the front man has been richly rewarded.
Moult already has eight goals to his name and is lighting up the Championship, however, the striker admits that making the critics who had written him off eat their words is still a major motivation for him.
Moult acknowledged: “Yes, massively. That’s exactly what I said when I first came here and I like to think I am doing that game by game.
“But my job isn’t done yet, that’s for sure.
“Every game I go into, I start afresh. As soon as that game is finished and we win or I score – both hopefully – the day after, I am concentrating on my next game.
“I am in a good place and I am really enjoying my football – I think you can see that.
“I am playing with a smile and with passion.”
Moult scored twice as United thrashed Arbroath 6-0 on Friday night at Tannadice to extend their unbeaten run to 14 games in all competitions.
However, the former Motherwell forward insists boss Goodwin will ensure no complacency creeps in.
Moult added: “The gaffer wouldn’t allow that, to be honest with you. That’s been the message throughout.
“We are very respectful of the way we go about our business.
“Yes, we are confident but we get the work done and we just have to keep focused.
“That’s exactly what we are doing at the minute.
“We stay grounded and we keep working day in day out to keep this run going. That’s really important.”
Moult’s two goals against Arbroath came courtesy of assists from Glenn Middleton who produced a dazzling display on the night.
And the striker admitted he is delighted to have the former Rangers winger as a team-mate.
Moult said: “I think confidence is the main thing.
“You can see that with Glenn from when I first came in here at the start of the season.
“He was probably lacking in that bit of confidence from the previous season.
“But you can see now he is so much happier and has so much more belief in himself.
“He is a fantastic outlet for us and as a striker he is a dream to have in my team.”
United beat Airdrie at home in September but Moult is still expecting a tough test tonight.
He admitted: “They are a good side and play with a very patient build-up.
“The previous game against them ended up being a game of chess.
“We know what we will be up against so we need to be organised and disciplined.”
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