Levein dubs Swanson a top talent

Levein thinks he has his strongest squad ever

Dundee United manager Craig Levein showered Danny Swanson with praise after the midfielder scored the opening goal in the 2-0 defeat of Motherwell.

"He is undoubtedly the most talented player I've worked with," Levein said of the player signed from Berwick.

"He can do amazing things with the ball, uses both feet, his finishing is superb and he isn't scared of anything and just runs at people.

"His game's all about getting the ball and entertaining people."

Swanson had to make do with a start from the bench, but the 21-year-old took only 40 seconds to make an impact.

"If he was six feet tall and robust, he would have played every week, but he's a little bit lightweight as he's come from part-time football and needs a lot of work to cope with the physical demands of the SPL," explained Levein.

The biggest thing for me was that Mark Kerr was absolutely fantastic after last week Dundee United manager Craig Levein

"He's had an impact in a number of games, coming on for the last 20 minutes.

"But, when I've started him, it's too hurly-burly for him and he doesn't get time to turn and run at people, which is what he does best, as it's too congested in midfield.

"In a game like this, where there's nothing happening - the football would have got two out of 10 the first half - he made a difference, although I didn't really put him on expecting him to make an impact within 40 seconds."

The three points moved United up to third place in the league, ahead of Hibernian and Motherwell in the race for Europe.

"If we'd lost or even got a draw then psychologically it would have been a huge boost for Motherwell and a kick in the teeth for us, but we've been playing very well and results always follow performances," said Levein.

"Because of the importance of this game, I thought it was vital that we won, so I went with two defensive players and two attacking players and, at home, we'll probably do that.

"I've never been so fortunate in all my managerial career to have such a strong squad at one time; we have 20 outfield players who are really exciting."

Levein praised Mark Kerr, whose poor backpass denied United victory in the CIS Insurance Cup final against Rangers.

"The biggest thing for me was that Mark Kerr was absolutely fantastic after last week as he kept trying to get on the ball, to make things happen and I thought he was brilliant, so it hasn't affected him at all," added Levein.