Dundee United: A big three weeks for Jack Ross - up to 8 new additions required, Doidge factor, Levitt return

New Dundee United boss Jack Ross probably didn’t need the players returning to pre-season training to know he had work to do in the transfer market.

In fact, the day after being announced he admitted as such.

"A lot of work to undertake in a short period of time,” Ross said. “We are playing catch-up a little bit.”

That work the former Hibs and Sunderland boss talked of is currently being undertaken. The good news for United is, thanks to their fourth-place finish in the Premiership and European qualification, they are not back in competitive action until July 30, when the Scottish Premiership season gets under way.

That gives the Tangerines over three weeks to put some pieces in place prior to the trip to Premiership new boys Kilmarnock and the first European tie in the Conference League third qualifying round a matter of days later.

The key phrase is “a lot”. United require around seven or eight new additions, including a goalkeeper to replace Benjamin Siegrist, with Zander Clark at the top of a shortlist.

The club's fans may want more, while the team’s young players looking for minutes may well want fewer. The last thing the club will want, having worked so hard with their academy, is to stunt any growth and block progression. Yet, with an average age of 23.5, United are lacking players in the 24-28 age range. It is about finding a balance and creating an environment where the best young talent can earn plenty of minutes rather than have a raft of teenagers get a few minutes here and there.

It is rare you come into a club where the new manager is looking to build from a position of strength rather than a team at a low ebb which has prompted a managerial departure. Ross is in the former position.

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