And their new player/boss, who will be making his debut for the club, wants to see them return with a victory under their belts.

“I want to win all the time, even at five-a-sides,” said Alex, who, along with himself, is also likely to hand first starts to Danny Griffin, Gary MacKenzie, Andy McLaren and Ludovic Roy,

Keeper Roy’s switch from Livingston still hasn’t been completed, but he has now officially severed his ties with the Almondvale club and can play as a trialist this evening.

“We’ll be sending out a strong team and, from this point onwards, we’ll be building towards our first league game against Partick next month,” continued Alex.

“The players are all in good shape and we’ll be looking to keep ourselves compact and iron out any cracks.”

Meanwhile, following the departure of Barry Smith to Icelandic outfit Valur, the manager confirmed that central defender Bobby Mann would lead the team out tonight and would continue to skipper the side throughout the season.

“Bobby knows what the club is about and epitomises what I am looking for here,” added Alex.

Forfar, meanwhile, may hand a debut to new signing Sandy Wood. The big keeper has penned a one-year deal at Station Park that will allow him to combine playing with studying for a law degree at Dundee University.

The 20-year-old, who used to be on Celtic’s books, spent time on loan at Montrose last season.

Tonight’s game kicks off at 7.30 and admission is £6 for adults and £3 for concessions. Station Park season ticket holders can use their match one voucher.

He admits a big personal disappointment from last term was the frequency with which opponents found a way past him and, even in Saturday’s friendly, Raith Rovers managed to sneak a goal.

By the time the SPL action gets under way at the end of the month against Falkirk, however, he hopes United will have learned not to leak so badly.

“Every professional player should want to improve his game and I am no different,” said Stillie, speaking from the pre-season training base in Denmark.

“I want to do better this time around and what I really would like are more clean sheets. There were not enough last season and, going through the whole defence, we need to start taking pride in not losing goals.

“Knowing you are solid at the back gives you confidence to nick one or two at the other end of the park, as great sides like Italy and France showed at the World Cup.”

When Stillie arrived at Tannadice from Dunfermline last summer, hopes were high at United following a Scottish Cup Final appearance against Celtic and with a UEFA Cup tie against Mypa to look forward to.

Hopes were dashed by a campaign full of struggles — the European exit at the hands of the Finns probably the lowest point of all — that saw boss Gordon Chisholm lose his job and Craig Brewster take over.

Stillie thinks expectations were artificially high, but is happy that Brewster is planning for the long haul rather than promising instant gratification.

“When I came here 12 months ago, everyone you talked to said we should be up there doing this or that,” he said.

“Yes, it was a worthy aspiration given the quality in the squad, but maybe it is best that progress is gradual and I thought our immediate ambition should have been to be better than the year before.

“Everything Craig has done since taking over has been for the long-term benefit of United and I like that.

“He has brought in new faces, but has also made aesthetic changes in the dressing-room area and around the ground. That shows how he is thinking about freshening the club up. It is all symbolic of a new start.”

Stillie will face a tough test tomorrow night when the Tangerines play Herfolge in the first game of their Danish tour.

In with a chance of featuring in that match, meanwhile, is Australian trialist Lindsay Wilson. The 27-year-old former PSV Eindhoven defender has made his own way to Farum and joined the rest of the players in training this morning.

Wilson impressed Brewster when he played for Kilmarnock last season against United, and the manager said, “I am glad Lindsay got here safe and well and we will see how he does.”

“Manuel has been recommended to me by the same people who put me in touch with Goran Stanic so we’ll have a look at him in training and see how he gets on in a closed-door game against SPL opposition,” said Owen

Meanwhile, Kevin Rutkiewicz, Stephen Dobbie and Peter MacDonald, who have undergone surgery recently, continue to progress and look like being ready for the start of the season.