| And as well as catching up with old friends as he leads his Sheffield Wednesday side in the City of Discovery Cup, ‘Luggy’ is pleased he’ll have the chance to measure his side against one of their major opponents next term.
He is delighted to be returning to his old stomping ground and will kick-off the four-team tournament when The Owls face Wolves in the opening game at Tannadice at 1 pm tomorrow.
Then he’ll sit back and watch the weekend’s main event, the 4 pm derby showdown between his beloved United and old rivals Dundee. The outcome of the games will decide which half of Dundee’s great divide his team come up against on Sunday at Dens Park.
Before a ball is kicked, though, he’ll be shaking hands with a few familiar faces as he walks back into Tannadice.
“It will be nice for me to meet up with a few old friends. Obviously, I’ve been back a few times since I left, but to bring a team to play at Tannadice will be special,” said Paul, who brought Wednesday north earlier this week.
“More importantly, these games are a big part of our build-up to the new season and the Wolves game, in particular, will be very useful.
“We are newly-promoted to the Championship and at first I was not keen to be playing a team we’ll meet at least twice next season. However, having thought about it, I am happy to be up against one of the big guns in our league because it will give us a good indication of what to expect.
“On Sunday, it will be nice if we are playing United, but I won’t mind if it’s Dundee instead because I’ve special memories of playing them at Dens,” added the man who won the league and a League Cup against the Dark Blues on their own pitch.
He admitted the knowledge gained from Wolves, plus the match-practice from facing United or Dundee 24 hours later, would be more important than results.
“In terms of preparation for the new season, we are a week or two behind the Scottish teams because our league starts later. We won the play-off final, so our season ran into June, and I’ve not pushed the boys too hard so far because it has been a short break — I don’t want burn out halfway through next season.
“We are also going into this weekend without four players who have had operations and with others who have just started training because they’ve had injuries or I’ve just signed them, so I am not expecting too much by way of results.”
Familiar faces in the Wednesday team will include ex-Hibs midfielder Craig Rocastle, former Dunfermline defender Lee Bullen and new signing Burton O’Brien, who has just moved south from Livingston. |
