Now enjoying a run of five successive starts and fresh from arguably his finest Premiership showing of the season, Kevin Holt can afford to reflect dispassionately.
The Dundee United defender has bounced back from a “frustrating” period on the sidelines following a chastening afternoon against Rangers.
Occupying an unfamiliar midfield role – as he had done ably in three previous games – he was hooked after 34 minutes. The Gers were dominant, already winning 1-0. The Tangerines’ shape was ineffective.
Although he was not having a good game, Holt was one of several players who could have been sacrificed.
Nevertheless, he would go on to play just 35 minutes (as a substitute at St Mirren) in the next five weeks, with Ross Graham having grabbed his opportunity at the back while Holt was busy filling gaps in the engine room.
His response spoke volumes. No sulking or self-pity; head down, hard graft.
It is why – regardless of whether he is in the starting line-up of a Saturday – Holt is one of boss Jim Goodwin’s senior lieutenants in the dressing room along with the likes of Ross Docherty, Louis Moult and Declan Gallagher.
Holt: Being dropped was ‘frustrating’
Holt told Courier Sport: “No-one wants to go off after half an hour!
“But you see it happen in other games. In other leagues – at bigger clubs than Dundee United, with bigger players than me – people go off early.
“Players in the English Premier League go off after 20 or 30 minutes and it’s not ideal, but you just need to deal with it. You get back to work, train well and fight to get your place back in the team – then make sure that doesn’t happen again.
“From a personal point of view, it was frustrating when I came out of the team. I had been playing in a position that I was asked to for the team.
“Ross came in and did really well. I didn’t expect him to just drop straight back out of the side, and that’s sometimes just how football is; someone comes in and takes their chance. You just need to wait your turn and keep working hard.
“It’s about waiting for that opportunity to get back in and being ready. As frustrating as it is, if the team’s doing well then sometimes you’ve just got to wait a wee bit longer than you’d like.”
Ross Graham battle to resume
With Graham making fine progress from a hamstring strain, the battle for the left-sided centre-back berth will heat up again following the international hiatus.
As well as turning in a string of towering displays, the former Scotland U/21 international scored winning goals against St Mirren and Hearts, and netted the 99th-minute penalty that rescued a point at Kilmarnock.
Holt reckons that fight for a jersey is echoed all over the pitch – albeit slightly lessened by recent injury woes – and is driving standards at Tannadice on a daily basis.
“Ross did really well when he was playing and scored a few big goals for the club,” continued Holt. “He’s been great and that’s what you want; you want competition all over the park.
“That’s been a big success for the gaffer in the summer – he’s built a squad that, when everyone is fit, has got two or three players fighting for each position. That just drives standards; drives players to play better.
“If you have a couple of off-games, then there’s someone that will take your place in the team.”
Cleen sheet satisfaction
Saturday’s 3-0 hammering of Ross County was anything but an off-game for Holt. His rampaging runs forward were a feature of the contest, including a superb decoy overlap which opened space for Will Ferry to set up Luca Stephenson’s opener.
No player made more accurate passes than Holt’s 42, he was level on 11 duels won with Vicko Sevelj and nobody prevailed in more aerial duels than his tally of 10.
However, the stat Holt was most heartened by was the clean sheet.
“We’ve lost a few soft goals from our point of view over the last three or four weeks,” said Holt.
“We spoke about the importance of a clean sheet.
“We saw at the start of the season how vital it was to have a good defensive record. It got us to where we are, and that’s something we want to get back to.”
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