2020–21 Dundee United F.C. season

The 2020–21 season was Dundee United's 112th season. It was their first season back in the Scottish Premiership, having been promoted from the Scottish Championship at the end of the 2019–20 season.^[1] United also competed in the League Cup and Scottish Cup.

Dundee United

2020–21 season
Chairman	Mark Ogren
Manager	Micky Mellon
Stadium	Tannadice Park
Premiership	9th
Scottish Cup	Semi-final
League Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: Nicky Clark (8) All: Nicky Clark (11)
Home colours Away colours
← 2019–20 2021–22 →

Season summary

Dundee United were promoted back to the Premiership after the premature season ending due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland and spent majority of summer months fighting their case in the SPFL and ended up in court with Raith Rovers and Cove Rangers fighting their promotions against relegated teams Heart of Midlothian and Partick Thistle.^[2] Also in the off-season, manager Robbie Neilson left for Hearts so Micky Mellon was hired as the new manager for United.^[3]

Competitions

Results and fixtures

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Pre-season and friendlies

Motherwell v Dundee United

11 July 2020 Friendly	Motherwell	1–0	Dundee United	Motherwell
	White 55'	Report

Dundee United v Livingston

18 July 2020 Friendly	Dundee United	0–0	Livingston	Dundee
		Report		Stadium: Tannadice Park

Rangers 'B' v Dundee United

22 July 2020 Friendly	Rangers 'B'	1–4	Dundee United	Glasgow
	McPake 12'	Report	Clark 4 pen.' Butcher 57' Shankland 60' Powers 80'	Stadium: Rangers Training Ground

Dundee United v Kilmarnock

25 July 2020 Friendly	Dundee United	1–1	Kilmarnock	Dundee
	Smith 1'	Report	Kiltie 46'	Stadium: Tannadice Park

Dundee United v Sheffield United

25 August 2020 Friendly	Dundee United	Abandoned	Sheffield United	Dundee
15:00			Sharp 43'	Stadium: Tannadice Park Referee: Brian McLean
Note: Abandoned after 45 minutes due to weather conditions

Scottish Premiership

Main article: 2020–21 Scottish Premiership

Dundee United v St Johnstone

1 August 2020[4] 1	Dundee United	1–1	St Johnstone	Tannadice Park
15:00 BST	Clark 6' (pen.)	Report	Craig 55'	Referee: Kevin Clancy

Motherwell v Dundee United

8 August 2020 2	Motherwell	0–1	Dundee United	Fir Park
15:00 BST		Report	Reynolds 52'	Referee: Steven McLean

Dundee United v Hibernian

11 August 2020 3	Dundee United	0–1	Hibernian	Tannadice Park
18:00 BST		Report	Doidge 65'	Referee: Don Robertson

Ross County v Dundee United

15 August 2020 4	Ross County	1–2	Dundee United	Global Energy Stadium
15:00	Paton  22' Donaldson 29'  87'	Report	Appéré  34' Pawlett 40' Clark 79'	Referee: Craig Napier

Dundee United v Celtic

22 August 2020 5	Dundee United	0–1	Celtic	Tannadice Park
17:30		Report	Ajeti 83'	Referee: Andrew Dallas
Note: Live on Sky Sports

Kilmarnock v Dundee United

29 August 2020 6	Kilmarnock	4–0	Dundee United	Rugby Park
15:00	Kabamba 30', 79' Brophy 45+1' McKenzie 86'	Report		Referee: David Munro

Rangers v Dundee United

12 September 2020 7	Rangers	4–0	Dundee United	Ibrox Stadium
15:00	Kent 13' Tavernier 39' Roofe 68' Arfield 87'	Report		Referee: Kevin Clancy

Dundee United v St Mirren

19 September 2020 8	Dundee United	2–1	St Mirren	Tannadice Park
15:00	Shankland 33' Sporle 52'	Report	Tait  60' Connolly 64'	Attendance: 0 Referee: Colin Steven

Hamilton Academical v Dundee United

26 September 2020 9	Hamilton Academical	1–1	Dundee United	Hamilton
15:00	Odoffin 75'	Report	Shankland 4'	Stadium: New Douglas Park Referee: Alan Muir

Dundee United v Livingston

2 October 2020 10	Dundee United	1–2	Livingston	Tannadice Park
19:45	Clark 18'	Report	Guthrie 53' Forrest 90'	Attendance: 0 Referee: John Beaton

Dundee United v Aberdeen

17 October 2020 11	Dundee United	0–0	Aberdeen	Tannadice Park
15:00		Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Alan Muir

St Johnstone v Dundee United

24 October 2020 12	St Johnstone	0–0	Dundee United	McDiarmid Park
15:00		Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Andrew Dallas

Dundee United v Ross County

31 October 2020 13	Dundee United	2–1	Ross County	Tannadice Park
15:00	Clark 19 pen.', 51'	Report	Shaw 81'	Attendance: 0

St Mirren v Dundee United

6 November 2020 14	St Mirren	0–0	Dundee United	St Mirren Park
19:45		Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: David Munro

Dundee United v Hamilton Academical

21 November 2020 15	Dundee United	2–1	Hamilton Academical	Tannadice Park
15:00	Clark 76', 80'	Report	Callachan 65'	Attendance: 0 Referee: Craig Napier

Livingston v Dundee United

5 December 2020 16	Livingston	2–0	Dundee United	Almondvale
15:00	Pittman 57' Bartley 73'	Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Don Robertson

Dundee United v Rangers

13 December 2020 17	Dundee United	1–2	Rangers	Tannadice Park
12:00	Smith 33'	Report	Tavernier 26' Goldson 44'	Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven McLean

Hibernian v Dundee United

19 December 2020 18	Hibernian	1–1	Dundee United	Almondvale
15:00	Magennis 13'	Report	Bolton 90+1'	Attendance: 0 Referee: Gavin Duncan

Dundee United v Kilmarnock

23 December 2020 19	Dundee United	2–0	Kilmarnock	Tannadice Park
18:30	McNulty 25' Shankland 28'	Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven McLean

Dundee United v Motherwell

26 December 2020 20	Dundee United	1–1	Motherwell	Tannadice Park
15:00	Clark 90+2'	Report	Watt 9'	Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madden

Celtic v Dundee United

30 December 2020 21	Celtic	3–0	Dundee United	Celtic Park
15:00	Soro 23' Turnbull 40' Edouard 76'	Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Willie Collum

Aberdeen v Dundee United

2 January 2021 22	Aberdeen	0–0	Dundee United	Pittodrie
15:00		Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Dundee United v St Johnstone

12 January 2021 23	Dundee United	2–2	St Johnstone	Tannadice Park
18:00	Appéré 9' Shankland 53'	Report	Melamed 16' Kane 38'	Attendance: 0 Referee: Colin Steven

Hamilton Academical v Dundee United

16 January 2021 24	Hamilton Academical	0–0	Dundee United	New Douglas Park
15:00		Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Greg Aitken

Dundee United v St Mirren

27 January 2021 25	Dundee United	1–5	St Mirren	Dundee
19:45	Harkes 54'	Report	Shaughnessy 30' McGrath 42 pen.', 45+1 pen.' Connolly 80' Dennis 85'	Stadium: Tannadice Park Attendance: 0 Referee: John Beaton

Dundee United v Hibernian

30 January 2021 26	Dundee United	0–2	Hibernian	Dundee
15:00		Report	McGregor 21' Boyle 69'	Stadium: Tannadice Park, Dundee Attendance: 0 Referee: Gavin Duncan

Motherwell v Dundee United

3 February 2021 27	Motherwell	2–1	Dundee United	Motherwell
18:00	Cole 23' Long 28'	Report	Edwards 80'	Stadium: Fir Park, Motherwell Attendance: 0 Referee: Don Robertson

Ross County v Dundee United

6 February 2021 28	Ross County	0–2	Dundee United	Dingwall
15:00		Report	Shankland 63' Edwards 76'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Grant Irvine

Dundee United v Livingston

13 February 2021 29	Dundee United	3–0	Livingston	Dundee
15:00	Sporle 1' Pawlett  31' Shankland 35', 83'	Report	Fitzwater  61'	Stadium: Tannadice Park, Dundee Attendance: 0 Referee: Nick Walsh

Rangers v Dundee United

21 February 2021 30	Rangers	4–1	Dundee United	Glasgow
15:00	Hagi 35' Kent 38' Aribo 48' Morelos 64'	Report	McNulty 86'	Stadium: Ibrox Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Nick Walsh

Kilmarnock v Dundee United

27 February 2021 31	Kilmarnock	1–1	Dundee United	Kilmarnock
15:00	Medley 64'	Report	Spörle 18'	Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 0 Referee: David Munro

Dundee United v Celtic

7 March 2021 32	Dundee United	0–0	Celtic	Dundee
12:00		Report		Stadium: Tannadice Park, Dundee Attendance: 0 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Dundee United v Aberdeen

20 March 2021 33	Dundee United	1–0	Aberdeen	Dundee
15:00	Spörle 61'	Report		Stadium: Tannadice Park, Dundee Attendance: 0 Referee: Greg Aitken

Hamilton Academical v Dundee United

10 April 2021 34	Hamilton Academical	0–1	Dundee United	Hamilton
15:00		Report	McNulty 6'	Stadium: New Douglas Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madden

Kilmarnock v Dundee United

21 April 2021 35	Kilmarnock	3–0	Dundee United	Kilmarnock
19:45	Lafferty 32', 35', 43 pen.'	Report		Stadium: Rugby Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Alan Muir

Dundee United v Ross County

1 May 2021 36	Dundee United	0–2	Ross County	Dundee
15:00		Report	White 24' Iacovitti 28'	Stadium: Tannadice Park, Dundee Attendance: 0 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Dundee United v Motherwell

12 May 2021 37	Dundee United	2–2	Motherwell	Dundee
19:45	Shankland 13' Meekison 34'	Report	Long 54' Cole 90+1'	Stadium: Tannadice Park, Dundee Attendance: 0

St Mirren v Dundee United

16 May 2021 38	St Mirren	0–0	Dundee United	Paisley
12:00		Report	Robson  71'	Stadium: St Mirren Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Euan Anderson

Scottish League Cup

Main article: 2020–21 Scottish League Cup

Group stage

Brechin City v Dundee United

7 October 2020	Brechin City	2–6	Dundee United	Glebe Park
19:45	Inglis 52 pen.' Currie 54'	Report	Clark 15', 18' Butcher 40' Harkes 47' Smith 60', 90+3'	Attendance: 0

Dundee United v Peterhead

10 October 2020	Dundee United	0–1	Peterhead	Tannadice Park
15:00		Report	Boyd 51'	Attendance: 0

Dundee United v Kelty Hearts

13 October 2020	Dundee United	1–0	Kelty Hearts	Tannadice Park
19:45	Edwards 45+3'	Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Don Robertson

St Johnstone v Dundee United

10 November 2020	St Johnstone	0–0 (3-4 p)	Dundee United	McDiarmid Park
19:45		Report		Attendance: 0 Referee: Don Robertson
Note: Live on Premier Sports

Scottish Cup

Main article: 2020–21 Scottish Cup

Dundee United v Partick Thistle

3 April 2021 Third Round	Dundee United	2–1	Partick Thistle	Dundee
15:00	Shankland 78' Clark 90+1'	Report	Tiffoney 25'	Stadium: Tannadice Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Steven McLean

Forfar Athletic v Dundee United

16 April 2021 Fourth Round	Forfar Athletic	0–1	Dundee United	Forfar
19:00		Report	Pawlett 56'	Stadium: Station Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Don Robertson

Aberdeen v Dundee United

24 April 2021 Quarter-Final	Aberdeen	0–3	Dundee United	Aberdeen
15:00		Report	McNulty 18', 54' Edwards 37'	Stadium: Pittodrie Stadium Attendance: 0 Referee: Kevin Clancy

Dundee United v Hibernian

8 May 2021 Semi-Final	Dundee United	0–2	Hibernian	Glasgow
16:00		Report	Nisbet 27' Doidge 58'	Stadium: Hampden Park Attendance: 0 Referee: Bobby Madden

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

As of 16 May 2020

No.	Pos	Player	Premiership		League Cup		Scottish Cup		Total
			Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Benjamin Siegrist	32+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	32	0
2	DF	Liam Smith	28+2	1	2+0	0	3+0	0	35	1
3	DF	Adrián Spörle	15+10	2	1+0	0	3+0	0	29	2
4	DF	Dillon Powers	6+8	0	1+2	0	0+0	0	17	0
5	DF	Mark Connolly	23+2	0	3+1	0	0+0	0	29	0
6	DF	Mark Reynolds	33+1	1	3+0	0	4+0	0	41	1
8	MF	Peter Pawlett	15+11	1	2+1	0	1+3	1	33	2
9	FW	Marc McNulty	17+8	3	1+0	0	4+0	2	30	5
10	FW	Nicky Clark	23+7	8	4+0	2	3+1	1	38	11
12	DF	Ryan Edwards	23+0	2	4+0	1	4+0	1	31	4
15	FW	Logan Chalmers	8+6	0	0+0	0	0+1	0	15	0
17	DF	Jamie Robson	33+3	0	3+0	0	4+0	0	43	0
18	MF	Calum Butcher	27+1	0	4+0	1	4+0	0	36	1
19	GK	Deniz Mehmet	4+0	0	4+0	0	4+0	0	12	0
20	MF	Luke Bolton	18+6	0	3+1	0	1+1	0	30	0
21	MF	Declan Glass	0+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	1	0
23	MF	Ian Harkes	30+5	1	2+2	1	3+1	0	43	2
24	FW	Lawrence Shankland	30+2	7	0+0	0	4+0	1	36	8
27	FW	Louis Appéré	11+9	1	2+2	0	0+2	0	26	1
31	GK	Jack Newman	3+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	3	0
32	MF	Archie Meekison	2+1	1	0+0	0	0+0	0	3	1
36	FW	Darren Watson	3+1	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	4	0
43	DF	Kerr Smith	3+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	5	0
52	GK	Neil Alexander	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0	0
53	GK	Ross Doohan	2+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	2	0
66	MF	Jeando Fuchs	19+1	0	1+0	0	3+1	0	25	0
Players who left the club during the 2020–21 season
7	MF	Paul McMullan	3+5	0	3+0	0	0+0	0	11	0
11	FW	Cammy Smith	0+4	0	2+1	2	0+0	0	7	2
14	MF	Florent Hoti	1+3	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	4	0
16	MF	Adam King	0+0	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	0	0
22	DF	Kieran Freeman	1+2	0	0+0	0	0+0	0	3	0
25	FW	Kai Fotheringham	0+1	0	0+2	0	0+0	0	3	0
26	MF	Chris Mochrie	0+0	0	0+1	0	0+0	0	1	0
30	DF	Lewis Neilson	7+2	0	1+0	0	0+0	0	10	0

League table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation[a]
7	St Mirren	38	11	12	15	37	45	−8	45
8	Motherwell	38	12	9	17	39	55	−16	45
9	Dundee United	38	10	14	14	32	50	−18	44
10	Ross County	38	11	6	21	35	66	−31	39
11	Kilmarnock (R)	38	10	6	22	43	54	−11	36	Qualification for the Premiership play-off final

Source: ^[5]
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored; 4) Head-to-head points; 5) Head-to-Head goal difference; 6) Play-off (only if deciding champion, UEFA competitions qualification, second stage group allocation or relegation).^[6]
(R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Teams play each other three times (33 matches), before the league is split into two groups (the top six and the bottom six).

League Cup table

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification		STJ	DUN	PET	KEL	BRE
1	St Johnstone	4	3	0	1	0	12	2	+10	10	Qualification for the Second round		—	0–0p	—	—	7–0
2	Dundee United	4	2	1	0	1	7	3	+4	8			—	—	0–1	1–0	—
3	Peterhead	4	2	1	0	1	6	5	+1	8			1–3	—	—	—	3–1
4	Kelty Hearts	4	1	0	1	2	4	4	0	4			1–2	—	1–1p	—	—
5	Brechin City	4	0	0	0	4	3	18	−15	0			—	2–6	—	0–2	—

Source: ^[7]
Rules for classification: 1) points, 2) goal difference, 3) goals scored, 4) away goals scored, 5) matches won, 6) away matches won, 7) drawing of lots.^[8]

Transfers

Players in Player From Fee Jack Newman Sunderland Free[9] Ryan Edwards Blackpool Free[10] Florent Hoti Rochdale Undisclosed[11] Jeando Fuchs Deportivo Alavés Undisclosed[12]

Players out Player To Fee Paul Watson Dunfermline Athletic Free[13] Sam Wardrop Dumbarton Free[14] Rakish Bingham Ebbsfleet United Free[15] Osman Sow Dundee Free[16] Cammy Smith Ayr United Free[17]

Loans in Player From Fee Luke Bolton Manchester City Loan[18] Marc McNulty Reading Loan[19] Ross Doohan Celtic Loan[20]

Loans out Player To Fee Florent Hoti Forfar Athletic Loan[21] Chris Mochrie Montrose Loan[22] Kieran Freeman Peterhead Loan[23] Paul McMullan Dundee Loan[24] Adam King Raith Rovers Loan[25] Kai Fotheringham Falkirk Loan[26] Lewis Neilson Falkirk Loan[27] Nathan Cooney Raith Rovers Loan[28]

See also

• List of Dundee United F.C. seasons

Notes

References

1. "Mark Ogren Statement: Dundee United Ladbrokes Championship Winners". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. 15 April 2020.
2. "Club Statement". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. 6 July 2020.
3. "Micky Mellon becomes United manager". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. 6 July 2020.
4. "2020/21 Premiership Fixtures Revealed". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. 6 July 2020.
5. "Summary - Premiership". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
6. "The Rules of the Scottish Professional Football League" (PDF). SPFL. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
7. "Summary - League Cup Group C". Soccerway. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
8. "Format". SPFL. Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
9. "Dundee United snap up ex-Sunderland goalkeeper Jack Newman". Evening Telegraph. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
10. "Ryan Edwards is Tangerine". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. Dundee United FC. 3 August 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
11. "Dundee United: Midfielder Florent Hoti joins on two-year deal". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 11 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
12. "Jeando Fuchs: Dundee Utd sign Cameroon midfielder on two-year deal". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 4 October 2020. Retrieved 4 October 2020.
13. "Paul Watson joins Dunfermline". dafc.co.uk. Dunfermline Athletic FC. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
14. "SAM WARDROP IS BACK AT DUMBARTON!". dumbartonfootballclub.com. Dumbarton FC. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
15. "Fleet bring Bingham in". ebbsfleetunited.co.uk. Ebbsfleet United FC. 3 September 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
16. "Osman joins". dundeefc.co.uk. Dundee FC. 7 October 2020. Retrieved 7 October 2020.
17. "Cammy Smith agrees deal". ayrunitedfc.co.uk. Ayr United FC. 20 January 2021. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
18. "Dundee United sign Man City winger Luke Bolton on season-long loan". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
19. "McNulty arrives at Tannadice". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. Dundee United FC. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
20. "Dundee United: Ross Doohan brought in on emergency loan". bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. 24 April 2021. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
21. "United midfielder joins the 'Loons'". forfarathletic.co.uk. Forfar Athletic FC. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
22. "CHRIS MOCHRIE JOINS MONTROSE ON LOAN". dundeeunitedfc.co.uk. Dundee United FC. 16 October 2020. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
23. "Paul joins on loan". eveningexpress.co.uk. Evening Express. 19 January 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2021.
24. "Paul joins on loan". dundeefc.co.uk. Dundee FC. 26 January 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
25. "One in and one out at Raith Rovers". fifetoday.co.uk. Fife Today. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
26. "Dundee United youngsters Kai Fotheringham and Lewis Neilson join Falkirk on loan until the end of the season". thecourier.co.uk. The Courier. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
27. "Dundee United youngsters Kai Fotheringham and Lewis Neilson join Falkirk on loan until the end of the season". thecourier.co.uk. The Courier. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
28. "Dundee United youngster Nathan Cooney joins Raith Rovers on loan until the end of the season". thecourier.co.uk. The Courier. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.