ERSKINE’S Blair Spittal is targeting Championship glory with Dundee United this season.

The midfielder is in his third season at Tannadice after making the move to Tayside from Queen’s Park in 2014.

Spittal, who was a pupil at Erskine’s Park Mains High School, has had plenty of highs and lows during his time at The Tangerines, United reached a League Cup final in 2015 while the 20-year-old netted a brace in the Dundee derby in August of the same year.

After experiencing the lows of the club’s disastrous league campaign last season which saw United relegated from the Premiership, Spittal is convinced better days lie ahead and has hopes of lifting the Championship trophy in May.

He said: “That has got to be the aim, we have to get the club back to where we were as soon as we possibly can. Winning the league has got to be the target.

“Last season wasn’t the best, I think everyone knows that.

“We never really settled at any point in the season, with the managerial change and there was a lot of players going in and out of the club at different parts of the season. Since the new manager came in it’s been a fresh start for everyone.”

Ray McKinnon took over the managerial hotseat at Tannadice in the summer, he is Spittal’s fifth boss at the club including two caretakers.

After a slow start in the league, Friday’s 1-0 win over Hibernian put United level on points with the Hibees at the top of the table.

Spittal, who has won back his starting place after a spell appearing from the bench earlier in the season, is adamant United are in a good place under McKinnon and the trauma of last season is fully behind them.

He said: “Everyone at the club has bought into what the manager wants to do. He is a good man-manager, he talks to players individually a lot about their game.

"He has got a real winning mentality in the squad which has shown in recent weeks."