Ivan idea ..trust me on this one

Ross: Polishing players for a profit key to keep pace... I even had recruits lined up before knowing if United wanted me

- BY SCOTT BURNS

Ivan idea ..trust me on this oneROSS GOODWIN insists Dundee United can't go more than a decade between big-money player sales if they want to keep moving forward.

And the Tannadice head of recruitment - who even had signings lined up for his first day in the job back in May - believes theres no time for the club to waste.

United chief Luigi Capuano, along with boss Jim Goodwin, had decided over the summer to bring down the average age of the squad and move to a self-sustainable player trading model.

They have sold academy players in recent years but their last big sale was Nadir Ciftci to Celtic 10 years ago.

Although they've since netted a big add-on from the sale of Harry Souttar, United want to get back to the days when they sold talents such as Ryan Gauld, Stuart Armstrong, Andy Robertson, Gary Mackay-Steven, John Souttar and Ciftci - and were then able to reinvest.