It was arguably the moment Ross Graham announced himself as Dundee United’s next big thing.
Sure, the towering stopper impressed in a cameo against Celtic. He was solid as the Tangerines racked up a series of clean sheets against Dundee, St Johnstone and Motherwell.
But his thundering header against Rangers in February 2022 – a maiden goal for his boyhood heroes to secure a hard-fought 1-1 draw – cemented his status as one of the most promising youngsters emerging through the youth ranks at Tannadice.
It has been far from plain sailing since.
Graham struggled to nail down a starting berth as United crashed to relegation in 2022/23.
The partnership of Kevin Holt and Declan Gallagher saw him largely restricted to the bench in the Championship, until injury allowed him to grasp his opportunity in the final straight.
Form and favour fluctuated throughout.
However, as United prepare to welcome Rangers to Tannadice again, Graham is once more in fine fettle – part of a stoic defence that has conceded once in its last four matches, with recent winning goals against Hearts and St Mirren to his name.
Patience has paid off for Graham, who was reassured of his importance to the club during key summer talks involving Jim Goodwin and his father, Ross Sr. A new contract was agreed.
Goodwin: The jersey is Ross Graham’s
“With more game time, Ross will only improve,” said Goodwin. “People think he has been around for a long time, but he is still a young player, in terms of being a centre-half.
“He was disappointed with how things panned out last season. But I spoke to him and his dad in a meeting in the summer, about where I saw him fitting in.
“He started against Dundee and had a couple of difficult moments in the game that were costly – but he has shown his strength of character. He hasn’t let that affect him. Ross has bounced back and been in the team regularly.
“The jersey is his at the moment. He just needs to keep performing. He gets the headlines for his goals but, more important for me, it is what he does defensively.”
Goodwin added: “If you were looking at what the profile of a modern-day centre back looks like, then Ross Graham is right there; 6ft3in, left-sided, good mobility and comfortable on the ball.”
United ‘can unlock defences’
Only Celtic and Aberdeen have conceded fewer Premiership goals than Dundee United’s three this season, with the unit of Graham, Emmanuel Adegboyega and the outstanding Declan Gallagher looking increasingly solid.
But while Goodwin is adamant even the best sides in the world build from the back, he has emphasised the need to carry a threat at the other end when the Light Blues arrive in Tayside.
“Look at all the successful teams in Europe – more often than not, the teams with the best defensive record are successful.,” Goodwin continued. “It doesn’t matter if you are talking about Manchester City, Liverpool or Real Madrid.
“They all have a good structure and shape, and everyone understands their jobs, with and without the ball.
“We can set teams up to be hard to beat and organised, but you need quality to go and break the opposition down.
“I think we have shown that in recent games with (Kristijan) Trapanovski, (David) Babunski and one or two others who have unlocked defences.
“It is going to be a feature on Sunday but, as always, it will all be about the team. We focus really hard on the organisation and structure of the team, which we know will be tested by a very good Rangers side.”
Facing a wounded Rangers – but the best is yet to come from United
On the challenge posed by Rangers, who have spent the recent hiatus seeking to regroup from a 3-0 hammering by Celtic, Goodwin added: “The international break has probably come at a good time for Rangers and Philippe Clement.
“I’m sure they will have been working hard on one or two things behind the scenes and it will be interesting to see what Rangers we face on Sunday.
“We will do our homework, but the focus will be on ourselves and how we can continue to improve. I feel there is a lot to come from this group. We are not firing on all cylinders yet and that is what we are aiming for on a more consistent basis.”
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