KENNY McLEAN has championed St Mirren's Ross Caldwell to be top boy when the Dundee United kids arrive on the block in Paisley today.

The Buddies host a youthful Tannadice team who are renowned for their young graduates ripping things up in the SPFL Premiership.

Talents such as Stuart Armstrong, Ryan Dow and Gary Mackay-Steven have been key players for United in recent years, while Ryan Gauld's impressive showings in tangerine last year earned him a £3million switch to Sporting Lisbon in the summer.

However, McLean believes Caldwell's talent can outshine the burgeoning talents within Jackie McNamara's squad.

The 20-year-old former Hibernian forward came off the bench on Tuesday to fire a brace in St Mirren's 2-1 over Dunfermline in the Scottish Communities League Cup, a double which not just delivered the club's first win of the campaign but their first goal.

And midfielder McLean hopes his young team-mate can get the start he believes he deserves against United - so he can put the Tayside outfit's young guns in the shade.

He said: "Ross is definitely knocking at the door for a start here. He's been unlucky not to be in the starting line-up for the last couple of games and when he's come on he's done really well.

"Hopefully soon he'll be starting and he'll keep the goals coming.

"I would say he is [capable of upstaging United kids]. We always seem to play well against Dundee United. They are a young side like ourselves and we're definitely capable of taking the three points, especially with it being at home."

St Mirren's midweek win halted a poor start to the season - in results if not performances - that threatened to mirror the dismal run which severely hampered the Paisley club's campaign last year, with it taking Danny Lennon's outfit eight games and until October 5 to get their first win of the season.

But while McLean admits there was a relief to finally getting the monkey off their backs after four games, the St Mirren star stressed nervousness from last season wasn't creeping into their game this time round.

He said: "It was a good win for us against Dunfermline, we did well to come back from being behind. We showed character and our spirits are high and the confidence is back up again.

"Going three losses in a row, it was always going to be a big deal getting the first win of the season. It was equally important to get our first goal of the season and I was delighted for Ross who came on to grab two.

"It was a relief to get the first win but last season's run wasn't on our minds. We've had a poor start in the last few seasons and it has been similar again this time, but we went out against Dunfermline knowing we were capable of winning it."