Ian Harkes helped Dundee United earn promotion to the Scottish Premiership for next season and has been rewarded with inclusion into an individual award.
Wednesday saw the SPFL begin voting for the league’s Midfielder of the Year award and Harkes was named to the list alongside 24 additional nominees. Harkes is one of three Dundee United midfielders recognized after the team rolled to a first place finish in Scotland’s second-tier.
Despite the Scottish FA concluding the season early due to COVID-19, the Tangerines will be playing top-tier football in 2020-21′. The Tangerines posted an 18-5-5 record in the Championship, earning 59 points from 28 matches.
They sat 14 points clear of second place Inverness CT with eight matches remaining when the season was put on hold and eventually ended. Harkes is also reportedly set to sign a new two-year contract this summer after impressing this season.
A former D.C. United Homegrown player and son of former U.S. Men’s National Team captain John Harkes, Ian was released by the Black and Red before signing in Scotland in Jan. 2019. Since joining Dundee United, Harkes has totaled 59 appearances and scored three goals.
The 25-year-old midfielder scored two goals and registered two assists in 31 combined appearances this season, playing a major role in Robbie Neilson’s squad. Harkes also got to play with another American in fellow midfielder Dillon Powers after the midfielder joined in January.
Dundee United began summer training sessions this week for the start of the new season, which is scheduled to begin in August.
good for you, Ian!
Scots Championship kinda represents a tier that’s missing from the US pyramid- at least from a supporter intensity and pressure perspective.
You mean a tier where most teams only average 1,000-2,000 fans?
I get it that promotion and relegation add pressure. However, USL matches up quite favorably with the Scottish Championship when in comes to supporter intensity.
yeah on average USL probably matches up, but for those 3 or 4 clubs that have a history of being in the premiership, the pressure and intensity is a step up from anything USL can manufacture.
so i guess it’d be more accurate for me to say the Scots Championship promotion battle, itself, represents a tier that’s missing from the US pyramid.