Dundee United boss Tam Courts acknowledged the emotion and excitement around Aberdeen this weekend but is focused on extending the Terrors’ good run of form at Pittodrie.

Following the unveiling of Sir Alex Ferguson’s statue at the stadium on Friday the hugely successful former Aberdeen and Manchester United boss, aged 80, will attend the cinch Premiership match against the Tannadice side on Saturday, where Jim Goodwin makes his home debut as manager.

However, Courts is looking to build on United’s five-game unbeaten run following their 1-1 home draw with champions Rangers last weekend which left them fifth in the table behind Hibernian on goal difference.

He told DUTV: “I am really looking forward to it.

“Going up to Aberdeen is an exciting fixture, it is exciting for the fans, especially particularly considering there is going to be a few additional things that will add to the occasion for example the statue unveiling of Sir Alex Ferguson and the new manager at Aberdeen.

“In terms of being a football supporter it is great to see a guy of Sir Alex Ferguson’s stature being commemorated for his achievements at Aberdeen, probably very similar to Jim McLean (former Dundee United manager) here, where the statue is a constant reminder of almost once in a lifetime achievements from really special individuals.

“But in terms of the referee blowing the whistle at 3pm, it will be purely down to action for us.

“We are on a nice run of performances and results, we have some healthy momentum building.

“There are never any guarantees of course but I feel we have the dressing room into a real good place, there is a lot of healthy competition and there is a real desire to get better so I am really looking forward to it

“I think the key thing for us is that we focus on ourselves this week.

“We give Aberdeen the same respect we give to everyone in our preparation and we just think it is a very important game for us, probably the perfect fixture on the back of the Rangers performance and result at the weekend.”