TONY WATT admits his birthday hat-trick was amazing - because he was convinced he'd never be back at Dundee United.
The striker downed Partick with a brilliant treble live on TV on Friday night.
But Watt confesses that last season he couldn't see himself being at the club, let alone ending 2023 on a high.
The former Celtic hitman had been frozen out and then sent on loan to St Mirren by ex-Terrors boss Liam Fox.
Watt was loving life with the Buddies and didn't want to return to Tannadice.
But the frontman did go back and now admits it was the best thing he could have done thanks to the support of current boss Jim Goodwin and club CEO Luigi Capuano.
Watt said: "I remember that interview, saying I wouldn't be back. The owner wasn't happy, the gaffer and Luigi caned me for it.
"But the truth is, if it wasn't for Luigi and the manager, I wouldn't have been back because I was so upset about how I'd been treated. But the best thing that could have happened to me was coming back and playing for this club.
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