Even before Eddie lost his long battle with cancer last month, Stephen was effectively in charge at Tannadice, and last week saw him confirmed as chairman.

And, he believes, he has taken on that task with United in a far stronger position than it was when his father assumed control late in 2002.

“I think my father’s biggest legacy was bringing some stability back to the club and left me in the nice position of being able to think in terms of maybe winning a trophy.

“We took over in September 2002 and that year the club lost £2.8 million. If it kept going at that level it would have been a big problem.

“There is still work to be done, but now, realistically, we can say we want to be in the top six on a regular basis. Certainly that, and challenging for trophies, hopefully winning some, are things we can think about.”

Those words are not designed to put pressure on team boss Craig Levein and the players, and they come with an acceptance of how difficult challenging near the top in Scottish football can be for a provincial club like United.

“We do have to be realistic. We are up against Celtic and Rangers and the game has changed so much, but I think there is a chance of us winning something.

“I think if you look at United in the last 10 or 12 years, they have been fighting relegation most seasons — and we’ve been here and made mistakes — so to be where we are now is progress.”

Over the coming weeks and months, things will be put in place to keep the club on that sound footing.

A couple of new board members are likely and new training facilities are in the pipeline, but there is no question about the main “to do” — hanging on to Craig Levein.

His contract is up next summer, but the new boss is determined to see him staying on beyond then.

“Working with Craig is great. No disrespect to any of his predecessors, but I see him as working at a different level to them,” added Stephen.

“I get on well with him and my No. 1 priority is to keep Craig here as long as I can. I do believe he is destined for higher things in the game, but, hopefully, that is a few years away.”

And giving the manager space to do his own thing could be the key to hanging on to him.

“There are chairmen who go down to see managers before the game — I can’t understand that. I leave him to get on with things and, unless there is something absolutely urgent, I won’t see him before games.

“He is left to get on with his job and I think that is maybe part of the reason why he enjoys his job. We need to make money available for him, that’s obvious, but I do believe enjoyment can be a reason why he stays. I do know he is happy here and maybe that is the first time he been like that in management for four or five years.”

Robertson, though, had a more professional reason for rubbering the great man — he was too busy concentrating on preparing for his Scotland debut.

The late call-up to the squad got just over half-an-hour as the South Americans ran out 1-0 winners thanks to an early Maxi Rodriguez goal.

And, so determined was he to make the right impression on his first appearance, he shut out all the hype surrounding Maradona’s presence.

“Even when I was warming up in the first half, I did not look over at him,” said Robertson.

“All I wanted to do was concentrate on what was happening on the pitch and see if I could learn anything — there were some great players out there and just seeing them close up was good.”

And, despite the result and the booking he picked up for a tackle on Fernando Gago, Robertson agreed with most observers that his first cap had been a good one.

“I did not get as much of the ball as I would have liked, but I just tried to be good out there, keep things simple and help the team. Even in half-an-hour, I think I learned a lot and it was good to be up against world-class players.”

After the final whistle, Robertson did not head for the away dressing-room seeking to get his hands on an Argentine shirt — he was more than happy to hang on to his dark blue top.

“I wasn’t giving that away for anything. This is my first international appearance at any level and I am keeping my shirt,” he added.

“Right back to age 12, I have never been involved in any of the Scotland squads and I look on this as reward for learning my trade in the First Division with Dundee and the work I’ve put in at United.

“After the game, the manager George Burley said he would keep watching my progress, so I know if I keep learning I have a chance of being involved again and that has to be the aim.”

Robertson’s display was monitored by United boss Craig Levein, who gave him the thumbs up.

“I thought Scott kept things simple which was the right thing to do, but he was also always looking to get on the ball and that will have impressed the management team,” said Craig.

“There is some stiff competition for the central midfield places, but he has done himself no harm and, if he keeps progressing, he can feature again.”

Also under Craig’s microscope as he channel hopped last night was striker Warren Feeney. He got 45 minutes of Northern Ireland’s home defeat at the hands of Hungary and, despite the loss, did well.

Lukasz Zaluska will have to wait a while longer for his first Polish cap — he was an unused sub in their win over the Irish Republic at Croke Park.

Along with fellow long-term absentee Colin Cameron, he was back in to do more running today and that will pave the way for him to resume ball work on Monday.

“He’s come on well and is ready to join the rest of the boys. That only leaves Cameron working on his own and, although it will be the turn of the year before he is ready for matches, he’ll be in full training before then,” said boss Jocky Scott.

With the rest of the first-team squad off, Jocky took the chance to have a look at his youth squad in training.