Paul Paton not surprised at Jags opener

New Dundee United signing Paul Paton admits he should have put money on the Arabs being paired with old club Partick Thistle on day one of the new season.

Alan Archibald’s Irn-Bru First Division champions will host United at Firhill on 3 August as the top flight of the new Scottish Professional Football League kicks off.

The Tannadice men will be led to Glasgow by former Jags boss Jackie McNamara, while utility man Paton could be joined in the side by playmaker Chris Erskine after both players moved to Tayside on pre-contracts earlier this summer.

Former Thistle skipper Paton said: “I’m not surprised in any way by the fact we’ve got Thistle first. I said yesterday on Twitter that we’d get them and we did. I should have put money on it.”

The Arabs first month of SPFL action will see them follow up their trip to Firhill with a home match against Inverness on August 10 before they visit Easter Road to face Hibernian a week later.

August 24 will see the first Tayside derby of the campaign as St Johnstone head east towards the City of Discovery and United will then play hosts again on 31 August, with Scottish champions Celtic the opposition.