Public rebuke was the turning point for United star Levitt

A TEENAGED debutant for Manchester United and the Welsh national team, Dylan Levitt heard nothing but words of praise as he took the first exciting steps in his career.

The theme continued during his loan move to Dundee United last season as he emerged as the star turn in the Tannadice club’s successful quest to qualify for Europe.

News of his permanent transfer to Tayside was met with more platitudes but things would soon turn sour.

Heavy defeats to Alkmaar and Celtic saw manager Jack Ross sacked, with Liam Fox taking over.

An understated operator who rarely talks in headlines, Fox made a point of calling out Levitt’s poor form on the eve of United’s trip to Celtic Park in November.

Hooked at half-time in a defeat at Motherwell the previous week, the 22-year-old (right) was relegated to the bench at Parkhead.

Far from taking umbrage, he used the rebuke as fuel for improvement and turned in an eye-changing substitute performance, scoring as United levelled the match going into stoppage-time.

‘That was a turning point for me,’ he admitted. ‘I scored and assisted in the next games and I think it was the reaction he wanted.

‘It wasn’t great to hear but I had to take it as a positive, in that he knows how good I am as a player.

‘I knew I could be performing better. At that time, every player could have been doing more.

‘But I wasn’t feeling myself. I wasn’t competing at the best level I could but that happens when you’re not getting results or performing as a team.

‘It’s the first time I’ve had a manager give me a kick up the backside like that, publicly anyway.

‘I took it well and I’ve bounced back from it.’

Levitt would probably have made the cut anyway but his upsurge secured his place in Rob Page’s squad for the World Cup in Qatar. Already the beneficiary of major tournament experience following an appearance against Italy at Euro 2020, Levitt enjoyed the experience of heading to the Middle East.

While there, he sought the counsel of Gareth Bale, unaware that he was also party to the captain’s last hurrah as a professional footballer.

‘Getting called up for the World Cup played a massive part in lifting my confidence,’ he continued.

‘Gareth is the type of captain who will speak to you because Wales isn’t just a national team, it’s a family.

‘From my first couple of camps, I found out it’s not just about football. It’s about being a squad on and off the pitch. That togetherness is so important.

‘As a young player, you want to look up to the role models and they come and help you.

‘Just training in that environment shows you that you need to be at it every day to reach that level.

‘You have to show what you can do at training and on the pitch to be given a chance in that company.

‘Training with players of that calibre is amazing for me.’

Levitt admits United will have to summon their best form to compete with Celtic at Tannadice today, after the 9-0 humiliation there in August.

Yet post-World Cup, United have shown evidence that the early-season malaise is behind them, winning three and drawing two of their six matches.

‘These are the games I measure myself in,’ added Levitt. ‘Because if you’re not bang on it, you’ll get punished — like we did at the start of the season.

‘When you’re not at it, it shows.

‘Everyone knows what we have to do on Sunday.

‘That 9-0 game affected me mentally. I’ve never been beaten by that many — it was one of the worst feelings I’ve ever had after a game.

‘But you have to turn it around and lift yourself.

‘That game hasn’t been mentioned at all this week, we’ve forgotten about that.

‘We’ve played them since away from home and did well as a team until the last two minutes.’