Vicko Sevelj has broken his silence on his Dundee United exit, revealing the move to Azerbaijani club Neftci was a great deal for both him and the Tannadice side. The Croatian, who spoke exclusively to the Daily Record's 'In Conversation', said United collected a significant six-figure fee while he landed a major contract.
Sevelj explains why he left Dundee United
Sevelj said: "This move was really good for me. I had been two years already and I was in the last year of my contract. I can say, it was a really good offer for me. It was something different again. It was also good for the club. The club functions like this (player trading model). They need money to reinvest. It was a great deal for me and the club. As I wanted, everyone is happy. I left on a good note."
The Croatian arrived at United from Slovenian side Radomlje on a free transfer as a relative unknown just over two years ago. His debut at Falkirk turned into a nightmare, with Sevelj fearing he had made a mistake and wasn't cut out for Scottish football.
From nightmare debut to derby hero
He recalled: "I ran 12km and I was nowhere near anyone. In the fifth minute, my head was gone. It was crazy. I was at fault for the second goal and everything was so bad. It is so funny but at that moment it wasn't easy, trying to adapt. I am good enough for this, Scottish football? Maybe I can go back to Slovenia? It is better for me!"
Sevelj worked hard on his fitness and strength with his own personal fitness team and took advice from Josko Gvardiol. He gradually found his feet and became a favourite when he scored his first goal in the derby win over Dundee, a moment he described as an out-of-body experience.
Sevelj said: "As everyone knows, it is not my thing to score goals. I scored the goal and it was the best feeling ever to do it in the Dundee derby. If I wanted to choose to score in any game in would be that game. I watched that goal two or three days ago. What am I doing? What is my celebration? I was just jumping I didn't know what I was doing. My emotions were crazy and through the roof. It is an indescribable feeling. It was like an out of body feeling. I scored to make it 1-1 and then we scored in the 95th minute (Sam Dalby) for the win. It was perfect and the best feeling. It is the best feeling ever. For them (the fans), this is the game you need to win. If you do something in that game you are their hero."
Sevelj's highlights and hopes for United
United were newly-promoted but went on to finish fourth and make Europe, a prediction from Jim Goodwin that Sevelj had dismissed. He explained: "He (Goodwin) said (when he was trying to get me to sign) he wants to be in Europe next year. I was like, okay, we've just been promoted here and it is hard to get into the top half immediately. It was okay, I accepted it and he was right. We won 2-0. It was the perfect end to the season beating Aberdeen. The last game to seal fourth with a win over your rivals was the best ever win. There were big celebrations and to go to Europe the next season was very good."
United went on to beat UNA Strassen and took Rapid Vienna to penalties in the Conference League. Sevelj added: "We had UNA and the two wins were good. Against Rapid we had two best games at Dundee United, as a team. We were really unlucky with the penalties. The Rapid games, the Dundee derbies and finishing fourth were amongst my top highlights from my time at Dundee United."
Sevelj is more than 2,593 miles away from his second home but is still watching Dundee United's games and believes this could be another successful season. He said: "We brought in many players. They brought in some good players and real characters. I watched the game with St Mirren. I am hoping they will have a successful season and can reach all targets."
