Jon Daly says the prospect of meaningful local derbies with Dundee is one he is relishing.
The Dark Blues are firm favourites to take Rangers’ place in the SPL, although there is still a high degree of uncertainty with Dunfermline also making a strong case to be admitted back in to the top tier.
Daly, who landed at Munich Airport at the weekend with the rest of the United squad for their stay in Austria, admitted he is sympathetic towards the Pars’ cause.
However, he knows fans of both senior clubs in the City of Discovery are desperate to once again be given the opportunity to establish full bragging rights over their local rivals.
Daly said: ”It would be fantastic for the fans but I know Dunfermline are looking to take the vacant spot, which is understandable.
”It’s difficult to see how they can just hand it to Dundee and overlook Dunfermline. I think whoever gets in, the other one is going to be unhappy about it.
”I don’t know what they are going to do about that. But from a United player’s point of view it would be good to see Dundee in the league.
”Obviously, you would get the derbies back, which would be great. We had a friendly with them a couple of years ago but I haven’t actually played in a meaningful one yet in the league and it would be something to really look forward to.”
While eagerly anticipating the possibility of facing Dundee, Daly expressed his regret that it seems almost certain he will not be visiting Ibrox on league business this season.
However, he believes the Govan side’s absence means that opportunity knocks for teams like United to realistically aim to finish in second spot behind odds-on title favourites Celtic.
He said: ”From a player’s point of view, it will be disappointing that Rangers will most likely not be in the SPL next season. You like to play in front of big crowds and obviously Ibrox is one of the largest in the country and attracts loads of fans.
”It is a bad situation but I am sure the Scottish game will come out of the other side stronger if they deal with it in the right way.
”You still have Celtic there, who should quite comfortably go on and win the league, but Rangers’ absence means the second spot is definitely up for grabs.
”There are maybe six clubs in the league who are probably looking at that and thinking it could be a great opportunity to finish second in the league.
”We are one of those sides and we will work hard pre-season to try to get a better start than we did last year so we can aim for it.”
The big Irishman rattled in 22 goals last season, a feat that saw him nominated as Scotland’s Player of the Year.
However, Daly insists there will be no resting on his laurels when the new campaign begins.
He added: ”I would like to try and better what I did last season. That means I have set myself a high target but I don’t see any reason why I can’t do that again or even improve on it.”