Dundee United

Dundee United left-back Will Ferry says the three-week international break is "big" as he focuses on his fitness. (Record - subscription required, external)

Wednesday's Scottish gossip

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Dundee United midfielder Zidane Iqbal opened the scoring in Iraq's thrilling 3-2 victory over Kuwait on Saturday.

The 23-year-old stroked in his third international goal early in the second half.

A late penalty from Yousef Nasser levelled the Gulf Cup group game at 2-2 only for Iraq to prevail in the eighth minute of stoppage time as Karrar Nabeel crashed in a fantastic shot.

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Before the Champions League and Premier League titles, Scotland captaincy and Liverpool hero status, Andy Robertson was a skinny teenager starting his professional career at Tannadice.

Dundee United plucked the then 19-year-old left-back from fourth-tier Queen's Park in June 2013 and paid him a few hundred quid a week.

That wage was quickly raised as Robertson set about showcasing the talent that would take him to the top of the game.

He spent only a year with United, but it holds a special place in the Scotland skipper's heart.

Within months he had earned a first Scotland call-up and by the end of the season he was PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year and on the move to Premier League Hull.

Recalling his United spell, 32-year-old Tottenham defender Robertson told The Overlap Podcast:, external "I think my first contract with Dundee United was £300 or £350 a week.

"But to be fair to the club, I played the first month and they gave me a new contract quite quickly.

"At Dundee United I just loved training every day. I loved being able to play football every single day.

"And then everything just kind of fell into place for me. I had a really good season. We had such an exciting team, a young team, Ryan Gauld, John Souttar, Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven.

"So we had really good young Scottish players who were making their way. Jackie McNamara was a young Scottish manager. So everyone was watching us that season and we were just loving it.

"It was simple, just get yourself forward and try to help out. I had John Rankin, an experienced player that helped me out and covered at left-back. I loved it at United."

Although he want on to become a Liverpool favourite, Robertson revealed he almost moved to Everton from Tannadice.

"Everton put a bid in for me in the January," he said. "They didn't bid enough. I think they bid £750k.

"Dundee United wanted £1.5m and the manager was saying, 'I'm not losing him'. And to be fair it was a good decision for Dundee United because they ended up getting £2.85m in the summer."

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Kilmarnock defender George Stanger made his New Zealand debut and Dundee United forward Jesse Randall was among the goals in a 2-2 draw with Palestine.

Stanger played the full 90 minutes of the friendly in China while Randall marked his 15th cap by firing the All Whites 2-1 up 10 minutes before the interval.

Former Aberdeen striker Oday Dabbagh levelled for Palestine to wrap up a lively first half.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Could Dundee United and Lyall Cameron be the perfect fit for each other?

There is no doubt the midfielder is a real talent, which he proved during his time at Dundee.

That earned him a big move to Rangers last summer, but his career has not kicked on since.

Cameron failed to make his mark in Govan - mustering only 10 appearances, five as a sub - during the first half of last season before heading to Aberdeen on loan.

At Pittodrie he struggled to establish himself following the appointment of head coach Stephen Robinson in March.

Now he has gone out on loan again and the early signs in his Tannadice stint are encouraging. In his second outing Cameron - who grew up a United fan - netted his first goal for the club in Saturday's 3-0 win at St Mirren.

At 23 years old, Cameron is at a crucial stage in his career and needs to be playing regularly to fulfil his promise.

If he can get a run of games at United his confidence and talent are likely to flourish. If that happens, it will be win-win for player and club.

Paul McNicoll
Fan writer

They say there's no place like home. So far this season, though, Dundee United seem to be taking the opposite view.

We're heading into October and the team are yet to register a home league win. You could make a case we should have beaten Rangers and Falkirk at Tannadice, but we didn't. And let's not even bother mentioning the Dundee derby.

On the road, however, we're sitting at a 50% win rate. An in-form Hearts saw us off comfortably, while we had to contend with only having 10 men for the best part of 80 minutes against Motherwell. Tough asks, both.

The trips to Kilmarnock and St Mirren, though, produced two magnificent performances. For a newly-assembled team, that's hugely encouraging. When it clicks, it really clicks, and it's an absolute joy to watch.

Which got me thinking, is there simply less pressure on the players when they're away from home?

Tannadice on match days can be an unforgiving place. An early mistake can be greeted with an audible groan from a crowd that is, understandably, expectant.

Unfortunately, that reaction doesn't always help. Some players can retreat into their shells and once that happens, confidence can be difficult to find.

Away from home, the atmosphere feels different. The travelling support seems a little more sympathetic, a little more forgiving of mistakes, and perhaps that gives the players the freedom to play without quite so much weight on their shoulders.

There's something to be said for that.

If only we could bottle up the atmosphere from Kilmarnock and Paisley, stick a cork in it and crack it open at Tannadice every other Saturday, because there's clearly a good team in there. We've seen it.

Now we just need to convince them that home really can be where the heart is.

Paul McNicoll can be found at the Dode Fox Podcast, external

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Republic of Ireland international Will Ferry has put contract talks with Dundee United on hold. (Courier - subscription required, external)

Ferry, 25, is not prepared to make a decision about his future in September. (Record - subscription required, external)

And Ferry has not ruled out remaining at Tannadice beyond next summer. (Sun, external)

Tuesday's Scottish gossip

Sportscene host Steven Thompson and analyst James McFadden assess Dundee United's 3-0 win at St Mirren (UK only).

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin praised Idjessi Metsoko for making the most of a rare opportunity in the 3-0 win over St Mirren.

The Togo international was handed just a second league start following his summer move from Viktoria Plzen on a season-long loan and provided the assist for Lyall Cameron's goal.

And Goodwin revealed Metsoko had caught the eye with an all-round purposeful display.

He said: "I'm really pleased for Metsoko. I thought he was a real handful all afternoon and his link-up play was nice and clean.

"All the players that we've brought here and recruited over the summer, they've all come here to play. So, Jessi has had to be patient.

"We felt this was a good opportunity to put him in from the start and see how he coped against an extremely physical backline. Alex Gogic is one of the most physical defenders in the league and I thought Jessi was excellent up against him.

"Not just his all-round physicality but also his willingness to stretch the game at times, to run in behind, plus he's got good pace and mobility.

"His tidiness in possession in terms of his link-up play with the midfielders around him was excellent. I thought his all-round game was very, very good."

This was just United's second league win of the season but Goodwin insists he was never worried even during a tough start.

He added: "I don't tend to put too much focus on the actual league table until the first round of fixtures has passed. I don't think we've performed terribly over the course of the campaign.

"The one criticism I could say is that we haven't been clinical or ruthless enough. And for us to be able to contain a team of St Mirren's quality and not allow them a single shot on target at 90 minutes, I think is great credit to the team."

Dundee United score three first-half goals to secure a Scottish Premiership win in Paisley (UK only).

Hearts recover from a disallowed first-half goal and a concession to draw with hosts Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership (UK only).

Dundee United fans, we asked for your opinions on the brilliant 3-0 victory over St Mirren in Paisley. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Matt: A surprisingly frustrating game, because it raises the question of why we can't do this every week?! I don't expect us to be world-beaters but I do wonder why the clinical nature of the squad today isn't being replicated very regularly. I'd say I'm hopeful we can kick on but I've said that too many times with this team to believe it.

Ian: Dominant display by United. The best performance so far this season. The midfield were outstanding, controlling the game for 90 minutes. That said, the whole team played well. This is what we need to see, week-in, week-out. Well done lads!

Gary: Need to be doing this every week. Good all-round performance. Daniel Bennie is too lazy, would rather Lachlan Rose was in there. Still missing players, too. We have a strong enough squad to get into top six, maybe more. Support needs a big mention too, they are our twelfth player.

John: Quite simply an outstanding performance. Every player showed up. With the strength on the bench too, the only way must be up. Only fear is the manager not taking the game to the top teams when he has the arsenal to take them on. Great day out!

Stephen: That's more like it! The signs have been there, especially with the Killie away result, that there is a team in there capable of performances like this. The key is to do it regularly now and build on this. No getting carried away, fans or players alike, but got to be happy - and a bonus to see Jim Goodwin back on the touchline where he belongs! Welcome back, Gaffer!

Garry: I thought we were excellent first half and very good second half, probably took the foot off the gas but after Lyall Cameron went off, we didn't control the game as much. Michael Forbes was outstanding, he is a proper defender and will only get better.

Karlo: Jim Goodwin has built a squad that are enjoying their football. There is a good future for this team, and it was nice to see Tangerine Jim back in the dugout.

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin: "We controlled the game from start to finish.

"They got off to the best possible start, being a couple of goals up inside fifteen minutes.

"The only criticism I could have in the second half is that we haven't added to the three goals that we scored.

"Really pleased with the overall performance.

"For us to be able to limit a team of that quality to zero shots on target, speaks volumes to the shape of the team.

"We're not getting carried away, it's a result we believed we were capable of getting before the game. We have to now kick on once we come back from this break.

"We've got some really good quality players. It's been well documented that we've tried to change the style of play and the recruitment has been built around that.

"I thought Dylan Tait and Zidane Iqbal in the middle of the park were absolutely outstanding. They completely dominated that area of the pitch and showed real good quality in possession along with Lyall Cameron. I thought it was a really good team performance.

"The boys will be working hard in the next three weeks and we'll be readied and prepared for Hibs."

Dundee United emphatically dispatched St Mirren to earn just their second Premiership win of the season on manager Jim Goodwin's return following a health issue.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin will return to hospital in the next six weeks to undergo a minor operation after returning to work after a health scare last month. (The Courier, external)

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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St Mirren welcome back influential midfielder Killian Phillips after injury, but Samuel Ramos (hamstring), Liam Donnelly (abductor), Malik Dijksteel (hamstring), Keanu Baccus (Achilles) and Jonah Ayunga (knee) remain sidelined.

Suspended Dundee United midfielder Emmanuel Agyei will be missing for several weeks with a knee ligament injury, while winger Mehdi Merghem (knee) is also absent.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Iraq midfielder Zidane Iqbal has vowed to use his Dundee United move to reignite his injury-stalled career.

Iqbal, a product of Manchester United's youth academy, made his United debut in the 1-1 draw with Falkirk last time out after his deadline-day arrival from Dutch Eredivisie side Utrecht.

Speaking before Saturday's Premiership trip to St Mirren, the 23-year-old said: "A couple of seasons ago I was playing well. I played quite a few games, qualified for the Europa League and did a ligament in my knee and after that, I just kept picking up other injuries.

"That is why I need to come somewhere after all those injuries are finished and prove myself and show everyone that I am still here and just show my quality.

"I always believe in myself. I have a good support network - my dad, my agent, my family always look after me, support me and just told me 'come here and show yourself'."

Iqbal has been capped 28 times and featured in all three of Iraq's games at this summer's World Cup, where he made history as the first player of Pakistani heritage to play in the finals.

So does he see himself as a something of trailblazer?

He said: "Every player dreams of playing in the World Cup and that dream was with me since a kid. I never thought of being the first Pakistani heritage player to play in the World Cup.

"So of course as I have grown up and got older I have realised how much it means to people across the world and you take that responsibility with you.

"But I am still a young lad, I am still learning myself. I am on my own career journey and if people can be inspired by what I do, or take a pinch of what I have done and add it to themselves, then I will be over the moon."

As he looks to make his mark in Scotland, Iqbal revealed he tapped into a Dundee United connection before making the move north.

He explained: "One of my old coaches, Hasney Aljofree (at Man Utd Under-16s), he played at Dundee United.

"He wore the number 14 as well, he told me and my dad it is a great city, a great club and somewhere where you can really enjoy yourself and kick on.

"I am happy to be here and growing up in Manchester, Scotland is not too far so you do have an eye on the league - there are some big teams here."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Scottish Premiership trip to face St Mirren (15:00 BST).

Here are the key points:

• After missing the past three games because of a health issue, he is delighted to be back, saying: "I have never missed a day's training from the day I turned professional at 16."

• Goodwin continues: "I don't want to go into too much detail about it, but it was something pretty straightforward in the end. It was a simple procedure required and once that is done and all tidied up then it will be nothing that I need to worry about going forward."

• He is "pleased to say I am back to full health and raring to go" and has been "absolutely overwhelmed" by messages of support he has had from within and outwith the football world.

• Goodwin also thanked the NHS staff who have looked after him during the past few weeks.

• He points out he has been in constant dialogue with his staff and players and has "still been able to watch the games and communicate with the bench".

• Goodwin thinks second-bottom United haven't "done ourselves justice so far" in terms of their points gained and require more consistency.

• The manager says scoring goals has been the bit that has let them down.

• Goodwin praised St Mirren for having "a great start to the season" and his former club's "bold appointment" of Craig McLeish as manager.