DUNDEE United boss Robbie Neilson has tipped sizzling Scott Banks to reach the top – because he’s all ears.

Teenager Banks lit up Tannadice on Friday night with an impressive display as the Tangerines swept past Cowdenbeath to keep them on course for qualification to the last 16 of the Betfred Cup.

Banks, 18, gave the United fans a glimpse of what they can expect in the season ahead with his manager convinced that being happy to listen can help the youngster achieve big things in years to come.

Neilson said: “Scott is a good player and has good technique. He wants to do well, wants to learn and listens.

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“That’s half the battle with kids. They can come in and at times think they know everything and we owe them a game. But there are senior players here who have been round the block and at this stage are better than them.

“They have to prove that they have the potential and ability to come in, work hard for the team and make that step up.

“We have the likes of Calum Butcher, Mark Connolly and Mark Reynolds, three experienced players in there – Nicky Clark as well to an extent – and they give them that base to go and play. They back them up and if there are any physical issues they can help them.”

United can almost certainly advance to the knock-out stages with a win over East Fife at Tannadice tomorrow, and Neilson insists the Betfred competition has worked wonders for his players up until now.

He said: “Yes, I would like to think it would. We have put ourselves in a good position with the home game Tuesday.

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“We will have had a wee bit of recovery time and if we get three points we should be into the next round which would be great.

“We will be fitter and stronger with a few more players having 90 minutes under their belts.

“I quite like the Betfred. It can be difficult to manage just with the game time of players but it gives you that competitive edge before the first league games. As long as you are winning – if you were getting beat, I would hate it.”