Dundee United manager Peter Houston has paid tribute to club skipper Jon Daly after he took his season’s goal tally to 18 by scoring against Rangers at the weekend.
The big Irish striker’s counter against the crisis-hit half of the Old Firm leaves him second-top scorer in the SPL, just behind Celtic strikers Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper who have both netted 20 times.
Houston believes Daly’s achievement is all the more remarkable considering he has been playing in a United side that struggled to click into gear in the early stages of the season.
He said: ”When David Goodwillie left, a lot of people were probably asking the question, who is going to score our goals? Well, there’s your answer.
”I also think Jon’s experience has helped Johnny Russell. He went through a wee dip in form before Christmas and he was left out for a while.
”He kicked on when he came on as a sub against Inverness and sparked the whole team and he has never looked back. But I think being alongside a player like Jon with his experience has helped young Russell.
”We have certainly been a handful for defences since the turn of the year with the amount of goals we have scored and they have been involved in a lot of them.”
He added: ”But Jon is the type who doesn’t worry if he gets enough credit or not. He is a player who has come in for a bit of criticism from the stands but I think he is making a few people eat their words.
”I certainly know the value of him to the team but I don’t want to put him on too high a pedestal as he would be embarrassed by that.
”He has come through a lot in his career in terms of serious injuries but he hardly misses a game now as he has built up his thighs in the gym to protect his knees.
”He is the second top scorer in the league playing in a United team that never really got going until the turn of the year and he certainly deserves a lot of credit.”