Thomas Courts has pointed to former Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers and Rangers' Michael Beale as coaches without a significant playing career who can inspire him to become a success at Dundee United.

The 39-year-old was yesterday handed the reins at Tannadice following Micky Mellon's departure at the end of the season.

Fans have been somewhat divided over Courts' promotion from within the club having worked previously as their head of tactical performance. But he was quick to point out that, having previously managed Kelty Hearts in the junior ranks, he has more than 300 games in the bank as a boss.

And he feels his lack of a playing career in the big time should also not be held against him as he has the experience and tactical nous to achieve things for the Tangerines.

During a grilling by David Tanner for the club website, Courts was asked about similarities between himself and Rodgers, who also didn't play the game at a high level, and he responded: "It's an easy comparison to make because these guys, without having the playing pedigree have to invest so much of their life to coaching. 

"From my perspective when I got the job at Kelty Hearts at 32-years-old I was still playing, I was given the responsibility as manager so I've now got 300 games under my belt as a manager.

"When you highlight people like Brendan or a Michael Beale at Rangers it is easy to take a lot of confidence from their journeys because they've worked across quite a wide spectrum, really developed themselves, their skill-set, coaching credentials and I think that makes them more impactful when they're dealing with players, which is ultimately what we all want to do as coaches."

Courts is a confident coach and that's why he was never going to shy away from the fact that there may well be some sceptics within the Arabs support. Speaking honestly he addressed the worriers specifically. "I think they actually have a point," he said. "There's some similarities about how I was feeling about potentially getting this job and, externally, the fans thinking I potentially could be getting this job because there was no real point of reference. 

"I'd never looked at a club of this size and stature appointing internally, the club are going on limited information, [fans] are detached from their club through Covid regulations so I can totally understand that from the fanbase perspective.

"I've tried to harness that as a positive because it's been a good challenge to my temperament and mentality and some of the reflections you have, you understand it, it's not going to be plain sailing all the time so do I have the mentality to lead this club, drive it, lead it through maybe some tough times because in competitive sport tough times come. The reflections I've had, I feel really ready and the fan reaction has given me the chance to reflect on that."