Dylan Tait has revealed he turned down moves to England to sign for Dundee United, despite interest from clubs including Barnsley and Plymouth Argyle. The midfielder was out of contract at Falkirk in the summer when he chose to make the switch to the Premiership side managed by Jim Goodwin.
A Hard Decision After Interest From England
The 24-year-old said Dundee United showed strong interest early on. "To be honest, Dundee United showed a lot of interest in me from early on after January, February time. I spoke to the manager, I came up and saw the facilities and stuff. I just wanted to see how the season ran out with Falkirk and make a decision."
Tait admitted the choice was difficult because of his attachment to Falkirk. "It was a hard decision for me because I really liked the manager at Falkirk, he'd done a lot for me and I liked the club, I was kind of familiar with it. When I sat down at the end of the season I had a good few things in England as well but I just thought at this moment in my career Dundee United was the next good step for me in terms of size of club, manager, the fans."
Pressure and Future Ambitions
He acknowledged the demands that come with playing for a club of United's size. "It's a good place to play your football but there's pressure if you don't do well, there's that side of it as well. Coming to a club like Dundee United where there are demands on you, can stand you in good stead. If you do well here, you can go on and do even bigger things. Playing with a big club already can put you in good stead for what could happen in the future."
Tait knows an opportunity to move to England could still arise later. His immediate focus is on performing for United, who have climbed to fifth in the table. He will look to build on that when Motherwell visit Tannadice on Saturday. The midfield trio of Tait, Zidane Iqbal and Lyall Cameron has been central to United's revival, with all three young players seen as having bright futures.
Resilience From a Difficult Rise
Tait believes his experience sets him apart. "Yes, I would say so. For my age I've probably played quite a lot of first-team games and I'm quite experienced for my age. I'd say I'm coming into my prime, I'm enjoying my football here - I love it. I just want to keep the good performances going and I think I'm always about the team - as long as the team is doing well I'm happy. So hopefully we can just keep the feel-good spirit around the place."
His path to this point has not been seamless. He moved from Raith Rovers to Hibs but struggled to establish himself at Easter Road. After several loan spells, a successful three-season rise with Falkirk helped him get his career back on track, fuelling his drive for future success.
Tait reflected on the setbacks he has overcome. "No, definitely and I think even a lot of players in that Scotland team have had similar journeys to myself in terms of getting a move and it not working out. It just stands you in good stead resilience wise. In football there are bumps in the road and it's how you deal with those bumps because there's going to be good days and there's going to be bad days."
"It's just trying to keep your feet level but I've enjoyed coming through the leagues playing against all different types of players. Now that I'm where I am, I want to keep playing at the highest level possible and obviously I've got dreams to go on and play with my country as well."
