Dundee United fans have coined a terracing tune proclaiming hitman Sam Dalby as ‘the best in Scotland’.
And the Tannadice derby hero admits he’d love to stick around in Tayside for the rest of the season in a bid to stay top of the charts. The Premiership’s leading scorer hit the double-figure mark with his late winner at Dens Park on Thursday night. It shot United into third place in the Premiership and the on-loan Wrexham man two clear of Kyogo Furuhashi in the goal stakes.
But Dalby’s red-hot form has seen the 25-year-old Englishman catch the attention of clubs further afield. And with a question mark hanging over whether Wrexham might look to recall the 6ft 3in striker and sell him on, United fans are worried. Tannadice boss Jim Goodwin insisted the club will do everything in their power to hold onto the former Leeds United youngster – whilst admitting that the striker’s list of suitors will be growing with every goal.
But asked if he would like to see out the season at Tannadice, Dalby said: “Yeah, you know, I just want to play and this is a great place to be at the minute. We are doing well and I’m scoring so I’m happy.
“I’ve not heard anything yet. It’s obviously the January transfer window and I don’t know when they can call me back, to be honest. We will see. Reaching double figures at this stage of the season is a great achievement for myself but a credit to the team and how well we’ve played.
“We are up to third in the league but we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We have a lot of games coming thick and fast now. I hit double figures at Southend (three seasons ago) but not since then. That was in the National League.
“Playing regular football and finding my feet helps. I want to keep improving as a player and thankfully it has got me here.”
Dalby admits the terracing tune that rang round the away end of Dens Park on Thursday night inspired his late heroics as he turned home Kevin Holt’s cross right in front of the Tangerine Army. His 10 goals have come in just 18 appearances since moving north on loan.
And that ratio means he feels like he’s going to score every time he steps on the park and hears his name belted out by the punters. Dalby said: “Yeah that’s the kind of feeling I’ve got at the minute, the fans singing my name all game gives me a boost and I always feel like I’m going to get a goal.
“They’ve welcomed me from the start, it’s a good feeling and it’s paying off. I’ve had a couple of songs at different clubs but this is the best one. It’s quite catchy and they seem to be singing it all game so it’s a good one.
“We have had a lot of games recently but them singing my name gives me a boost and it got me my goal on Thursday. It was an unbelievable feeling to get the winner in the derby, especially so late on.
“I saw Holty go down the left – I’m not sure why he was there but luckily he put it across goal and I finished it. Where does it rank? It’s definitely the top one so far. Thankfully it got us the three points.”
Dalby’s late winner was the 14th Premiership goal United have scored after the 75th minute this season. It’s a never-say-die spirit that’s seen Goodwin’s side claw back 13 points on Aberdeen to overtake the Pittodrie side into third.
And Dalby said: “We have a lot of good characters here. It’s an honest, hard-working group. We are always in the game, no matter how late it is we are always looking to nick a point or three.”