Peterhead defender Gary Mackenzie reckons that his side’s visit to Tannadice to face Dundee United cannot be any more different to his last trip to Tayside.
Mackenzie was part of a St Mirren side desperate to keep hold of their Premiership place that pitched up for the first leg of a play-off against United back in May 2019 and the one time Dundee stopper knows that the atmosphere this afternoon will be nothing like that game.
The 34-year-old who headed north in the summer said: “That game was a really pressurised one. The crowd was a bit frantic and the game was as well before finishing goalless. This one will be very different as there will be no crowd there and there is little expectation on us.”
“The play-offs ended up okay for St Mirren in the second leg but Dundee United have done really well since then. They have started their season in decent shape under Micky Mellon and he has them playing some good stuff.”
This is the first game of the season for the Blue Toon and Mackenzie is wary of the Terrors giving his side the run-around in what will be their twelfth match of the new campaign as he explained: “I have spoken to a couple of players who have faced United this season in the Premiership and they have told me that they are a fit side. We are not going into it with a lot of game time under our belts but we will try and match them through our organisation.”
Mackenzie’s former Paisley team-mate Lawrence Shankland will be missing from the hosts’ attack due to Scotland duty however the big defender does not reckon that weakens Mellon’s side as he explained: “Lawrence has done brilliantly over the past few years but United scored six without him the other night at Brechin. Nicky Clark is a really sharp striker to have in his absence so we need to be as organised and disciplined as possible.”
