Louis Moult admits he has been “miserable” during his stint on the bench for Dundee United.
Moult, 32, served a timely reminder of his eye for goal during the Tangerines’ dramatic 2-1 defeat against Motherwell on Friday night, lashing home a sumptuous volley from the edge of the box following a Sam Dalby touch.
The former Wrexham and Preston front-man has not started a competitive fixture for the Terrors since the culmination of the Premier Sports Cup group phase, losing his place to the tireless Jort van der Sande.
While the Bonaire international has won admirers thanks to his hard graft and link-up play, he has carried limited goal threat, albeit from equally scarce service.
And Moult is hopeful that his impressive cameo in Lanarkshire put forward a strong case for him to start United’s next Premiership outing against Kilmarnock.
“I want to play, and I’ve told the gaffer that,” said Moult.
“I was in his office two days ago saying “play me, please”. I’m very miserable when I’m not playing, so the missus takes the worst of that, unfortunately!
“I don’t think I’ve done myself any harm by coming on and scoring the goal. I feel like every time I have come on, I’ve impacted games.”
He added: “I’ve had to work on reacting the right way throughout my career. Ten – or even five – years ago, my head would have dropped, and I might have sulked. But I’ve tried not to do that.
“I’ve felt that way away from the club, but when I’m around the boys and in training, I’ve worked hard and tried to stay as positive as I can.”
Written in the stars
Moult felt his strike against the Steelmen was “written in the stars” as he lined up at Fir Park for the first time as an opposition player, having rippled the net 51 times for Motherwell over two spells.
His celebration was suitably muted, standing stock-still on the edge of the box with his finger to his lip; the same way he toasted most of his goals last season, rather than any attempt to wind up the home fans.
“I had mixed emotions,” said Moult after his return. “I always felt like I was going to score. It was written in the stars a little bit, with it being the first time I’ve come back as an opposition player.
“The respect was there, and I didn’t really celebrate.
“Everyone knows the feelings I have for Motherwell and it’s nothing but respect. I got a lovely cheer during the warm-up and a nice round of applause at the end of it, which meant a lot.”
‘Different class’ Luca Stephenson will learn
Meanwhile, Moult has backed on-loan Liverpool kid to learn from the rash challenge on Moses Ebiyi which allowed Lennon Miller to slot home the decisive penalty kick in injury time.
Manager Jim Goodwin confirmed that the youngster apologised in the dressing room following the galling reverse – and Moult is adamant he found his teammates in conciliatory mood.
“Luca is a young lad who has done absolutely brilliantly since coming here,” said Moult. “His attitude has been spot on and he’s different class, on and off the field. He doesn’t need to apologise. We know he didn’t mean it.
“He was eager to win the ball and will definitely learn from that moment.”
Conversation