The 1988–89 season was the 80th year of football played by Dundee United, and covers the period from 1 July 1988 to 30 June 1989. United finished in fourth place, securing UEFA Cup football for the following season. The season would mark the beginning of Jim McLean's tenure as both manager and club chairman.

Summary Dundee United played a total of 50 competitive matches during the 1988–89 season. The team finished fourth in the Scottish Premier Division.

In the cup competitions, United lost in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup to eventual runners-up Rangers and lost in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals to Aberdeen, who also finished as losers in the final. Romanian side Dinamo București knocked United out of the Cup Winners' Cup in the second round.

The club signed four players during the season with a total public cost of at least £450,000 (one figure unknown). Seven players were sold by the club during the season with a public total of at least £1.1m (some figures unavailable). One player also retired.

The club's playing kits were sponsored by Belhaven Brewery for a second season.

All four of United's matches against Heart of Midlothian finished 0–0.

Fixtures and results All results are written with Dundee United's score first.

Scottish Premier Division

DateOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 13 August 1988 St MirrenA1–05,832Clark 20 August 1988 CelticH1–018,769Gallacher 27 August 1988 AberdeenH2–213,128Clark, Meade 3 September 1988 DundeeA3–014,927Paatelainen (2), Gallacher 17 September 1988 HibernianH1–111,017Paatelainen 24 September 1988 MotherwellA2–13,559Redford (2) 27 September 1988 RangersH0–120,071 1 October 1988 Heart of MidlothianH0–010,838 8 October 1988 Hamilton AcademicalA4–03,538Meade, Paatelainen (2), McPhee 12 October 1988 CelticA0–136,870 22 October 1988 St MirrenH0–17,618 29 October 1988 MotherwellH1–16,266Paatelainen 2 November 1988 HibernianA1–110,000Meade 5 November 1988 DundeeH2–014,882Meade, Paatelainen 12 November 1988 AberdeenA1–115,000Preston 19 November 1988 Heart of MidlothianA0–010,121 26 November 1988 Hamilton AcademicalH1–06,357Bowman 3 December 1988 RangersA1–039,200Beaumont 10 December 1988 HibernianH4–19,963Mitchell, French, Gallacher, McKinlay 17 December 1988 CelticH2–018,745Paatelainen, Baillie 31 December 1988 St MirrenA1–07,762Gallacher 3 January 1989 AberdeenH1–117,952French 7 January 1989 DundeeA1–016,332French 14 January 1989 Hamilton AcademicalA5–04,000McInally, Gallacher (3), Paatelainen 21 January 1989 Heart of MidlothianH0–013,674 11 February 1989 RangersH1–120,013Stevens 11 March 1989 St MirrenH1–48,320Malpas 14 March 1989 MotherwellA2–13,545Krivokapic, Gallacher 25 March 1989 CelticA0–136,870 1 April 1989 AberdeenA0–116,700 8 April 1989 DundeeH2–111,910Sturrock, Gallacher 22 April 1989 MotherwellH1–16,301Hegarty 29 April 1989 HibernianA2–17,700Irvine, Paatelainen 2 May 1989 RangersA0–239,058 6 May 1989 Heart of MidlothianA0–08,613 13 May 1989 Hamilton AcademicalH0–111,503

Scottish Cup

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 28 January 1989 Third round DundeeA2–118,117Bowman, Meade 18 February 1989 Fourth round AberdeenA1–123,600Paatelainen 22 February 1989 Fourth round replay AberdeenH1–118,756Paatelainen 27 February 1989 Fourth round 2nd replay AberdeenH1–021,095Paatelainen 21 March 1989 Quarter–finals RangersA2–242,177Gallacher, Paatelainen 27 March 1989 Quarter–finals replay RangersH0–121,872

Scottish League Cup

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 16 August 1988 Second round Partick ThistleA2–04,500Paatelainen (2) 24 August 1988 Third round St MirrenA3–15,970Paatelainen, Gallacher, Meade 31 August 1988 Quarter–finals CelticH2–021,178Gallacher, Redford 20 September 1988 Semi–finals AberdeenN0–218,481

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup

DateRoundOpponentVenueResultAttendanceScorers 6 September 1988 First round 1st leg FlorianaA0–04,000 5 October 1988 First round 2nd leg FlorianaH1–09,138Meade 26 October 1988 Second round 1st leg Dinamo BucureștiH1–110,594Beaumont 9 November 1988 Second round 2nd leg Dinamo BucureștiA0–118,000

Player statistics During the 1988–89 season, United used 31 different players comprising four nationalities. Maurice Malpas was the only player to play in every match. The table below shows the number of appearances and goals scored by each player.

Goalscorers United had 17 players score with the team scoring 60 goals in total. The top goalscorer was Mixu Paatelainen, who finished the season with 17 goals. NameLeagueCupsTotal107 1793 1243 730 321 330 320 211 211 210 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 110 1

Competitions League table

Transfers

In Date Player From Fee 3 August 1988 Red Star Belgrade £250,000 3 August 1988 Sporting CP £150,000 16 December 1988 Newcastle United £200,000 April 1989 Brechin City Unknown

Out Date Player To Fee 13 July 1988 Heart of Midlothian £225,000 July 1988 £320,000 November 1988 Airdrieonians Unknown 14 November 1988 Ipswich Town £200,000 16 November 1988 Airdrieonians £100,000 12 January 1989 Luton Town £150,000 1989 St Johnstone Unknown April 1989 Luton Town £150,000 13 May 1989 Retired

See also 1988–89 in Scottish football

References

External links Glenrothes Arabs 1988–89 season review