Dundee United looking for quick pick-me-up after Euro disappointment

A GRIM consequence of Dundee United's Europa League elimination is that they now require to pick themselves up for their very first league game of the season.

As Scott Severin stated when that point was put to him by one journalist the other night, participation in Europe is what the Tayside club pushed for the whole of last season, and will be again in the new term. But for what? To experience an admittedly electric July evening at a throbbing Tannadice that ultimately only succeeds in draining energy levels, optimism and, for Scottish football at large, co-efficient prospects.

Kilmarnock management team Kenny Shiels and Jimmy Nicholl were among the 11,000-plus crowd on Thursday. Privately, they would surely have left feeling boosted over their possibilities when facing United this afternoon.

The circumstances of Slask Wroclaw's snatched success will scunner Peter Houston's men for more than the 48 hours they will have had to get over them. Severin acknowledged that United tired in the second period after their blistering two-goal, four-minute opening. The long-range screamer by Slask Wroclaw's Sebastian Dudek, 15 minutes from time, condemned the home side to that cruellest of exits; the tie lost on the away goals rule after a 3-2 home win.

"It was one of those nights," Severin said. "We were saying to the guy: 'Go and hit it from 30 yards', and he does and it's in the top bin." To consign United to the continental rubbish heap for another year. And have football followers throughout this country clamouring to say how garbage we have become with Scottish teams papped out of European competition at the first time asking on four occasions out of a possible six in the past 12 months.

Yet, United were genuinely unlucky to draw the highest-ranked non-seed in the Polish league runners-up. What befell them then was not a disaster of, say, My-Pa proportions six years ago. They were further unlucky in not converting one of two glorious early chances in the away leg lost 1-0. Severin accepted the absence of an away goal probably was the decisive factor in the tie. "We were competing against a really good side. The manager said he was proud of every one of us and if we played like that in the SPL we'll win more than we lose."

That will be put to the test this afternoon. If looking for straws to clutch at among the cinders, indeed, what Thursday demonstrated was that United with a head of steam up can be genuinely thrilling.

That was true of Kilmarnock last season. Therefore, we should at least be thankful clubs in Scotland are putting an emphasis on entertainment. The Rugby Park side will be doing so with a squad unrecognisable from the one Severin played with on loan for the second half of the season before last.James Fowler and Garry Hay are the only two familiar faces he is likely to encounter today.

"They have been playing total football in pre-season, apparently," the 32-year-old. "The new manager has come in and brought a lot of new players and they are playing football the right way." Whether that will make them one of United's fiercest rivals for a leading place in the table isn't a topic for just now, Severin believes. "You have to wait three, four, five games into the season to judge. There's always a surprise team during the season. If you get off to a good start you've got momentum."

For all that United did not prevail against Slask, Willo Flood can consider he made a good start at Tannadice to his second spell at the club. He is insistent the blow of being bumped out in Europe won't be felt in the domestic arena, even with the precious little recovery time. "I don't think that bothers us at this stage of the season," he said. "The fitness levels are high and the enthusiasm is high. At this stage of the season everyone will run on adrenaline. It was good to be back. The atmosphere was great and I hope it will be like that for the rest of the season. I saw a bit of Kilmarnock on the TV last season and they got the ball down and played some decent football. They had a really good season and I expect them to come here and have a go and it should be a really good game to watch."

These are not empty words. Flood is right to expect that United and Kilmarnock should be able to produce an attractive contest. It might not set pulses racing as a European encounter at Tannadice would. Since those have been wiped from the calendar for the rest of the year at the venue, though, best to make the most of what football will be played there. Let's go easy on the doom-mongering - for now at least.