Jim McLean led Dundee United to their first major trophy on December 12 1979 when they defeated Aberdeen at Dens Park.
A new era in Scottish football was unfolding.
United had beaten Airdrie, Queen’s Park, Raith Rovers and Hamilton Accies to reach the final of the League Cup against Alex Ferguson’s Dons.
Aberdeen knocked out Celtic and Rangers on their route to Hampden.
The only surviving member of the United team that beat Aberdeen on the last occasion they met in the League Cup in August 1973 was goalkeeper Hamish McAlpine.
Jim McLean was given a gallon of Scotch
The competition was sponsored by Bell’s whisky in 1979.
Ferguson and McLean were presented with a commemorative silver salver and a gallon bottle of Bell’s before the final at Hampden on December 8.
The Scotch was wasted on McLean as a teetotaller.
The Adidas Tango River Plate, which was used in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, was the official match ball.
Aberdeen and Dundee United couldn’t score over 120 minutes of football.
The Dons came closest.
A Willie Garner header rolled along the goal-line and stuck in the mud.
The replay took place the following Wednesday.
The home of city rivals Dundee was chosen as a neutral venue.
Admission prices cost from £1.50 to £5.50.
The biggest attendance Dens Park had seen for many years packed into the ground.
Alex Ferguson named an unchanged side.
Jim McLean pulled a surprise when he dropped playmaker Graeme Payne and his midfielder partner Iain Phillip.
It was a brave decision from McLean.
Payne had been United’s most consistent performer that season.
Phillip wasn’t far behind in those stakes.
Payne’s place went to Billy Kirkwood who wasn’t even a substitute at Hampden.
George Fleming came in for Phillip.
McLean thought a different approach was needed.
As it turned out, he got it right.
Hampden playing surface was muddy and greasy
The Tangerines ran riot.
Aberdeen floundered in the mud.
Former Motherwell striker Willie Pettigrew was the man who made the difference.
The £100,000 signing scored twice, and Paul Sturrock got one, as the Tangerines ran out 3-0 winners in front of a 28,000 crowd.
The weather was miserable.
Very heavy rain fell during the day.
The Dundee ground staff lifted the canvasses covering both goalmouths before kick off.
The surface was heavy and greasy on top.
Aberdeen captain Willie Miller won the toss and decided to kick up the slope.
United took the game by the scruff of the neck from the very first whistle.
United dominated the early exchanges and took the lead after 15 minutes.
Paul Sturrock and Derek Stark combined on the left.
Stark sent in a cross.
Pettigrew’s first attempt was blocked by Garner but the ball stuck in the mud.
He made no mistake from the rebound.
It was no more than United deserved.
United should have gone in two ahead
United should have gone two up on 30 minutes when Frank Kopel collected a ball from Pettigrew with only Bobby Clark to beat from close range.
He failed to make proper contact and struck straight at the Dons goalkeeper.
United were making the most of the slope advantage.
Aberdeen’s closest chance came on 36 minutes.
Steve Archibald headed a John McMaster free kick over the bar.
United had the wind at their back after the break.
Aberdeen tried desperately hard to get back on level terms but Paul Hegarty and David Narey were magnificent at the back for McLean’s men.
United were going for the second.
Fleming and Kirkwood were inches away from knocking in a Pettigrew cross.
United firmly shut the door on Aberdeen on 65 minutes.
Eammon Bannon went on a mazy run and gave the ball to John Holt.
Holt shimmied and found Sturrock who whipped it over with pace and precision.
Pettigrew ghosted in ahead of Clark to meet his cross with a bullish header.
Some people are on the pitch…
With 16 minutes to go the game was held up.
Some Aberdeen supporters spilled on to the track.
Did they think it was all over?
The interruption failed to upset United.
Paul Sturrock put the game beyond doubt on 79 minutes.
He collected a ball from Narey just inside the Aberdeen half and went charging towards goal on a solo run which took him to the edge of the box.
He struck past Clark with the help of a deflection off Miller’s left leg.
It was a great team effort and United’s first major trophy since being founded in 1909.
The League Cup and medals were presented at the foot of the gangway at Dens.
The players celebrated on the pitch with the trophy.
Alex Ferguson was generous in defeat.
“We didn’t play well,” he said.
“Too often during the match we were just chasing shadows.
“My only consolation is that it was United who won the trophy because Jim McLean deserves something for what he has put into the game.”
Jim McLean was in contemplative mood
The League Cup win was the climax of a journey to success which started when McLean accepted an offer from Jerry Kerr to succeed him in 1971.
McLean had the luxury of managing and building a team.
“Eight years of effort at Tannadice have finally paid off tonight for me,” he said.
“The team was magnificent.
“They fulfilled all their promise.
“I could not have asked for a better performance from then.”
United walked down the road and celebrated in the Tannadice boardroom.
They were met by a sea of tangerine when they showed off the trophy the following lunchtime following a civic reception at the City Chambers.
United took a lap of honour in the City Square.
Dundee United put city on map in 1979
Lord Provost Harry Vaughan paid tribute to the Tannadice Parkers.
He said: “The players showed guts determination and courage in achieving victory.
“The whole performance reflects greatly on the city.
“They have put us on the map.”
A special cheer was reserved for Jim McLean.
And it was typical of his determination for success that he put the players through a full training session before they attended the civic reception.
From there the team enjoyed a decade of success.
The Tannadice boss led Dundee United to the Premier League title in 1983, the European Cup semi-final in 1984 and the Uefa Cup final in 1987.
At the height of United’s success in the 1980s, one English commentator even described Dundee as the ‘city of the four Js’ – jute, jam, journalism and Jim McLean.
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