Diplomatic immunity could be on the cards for Dylan Levitt by Dundee United fans even if the Welshman admits he’s desperate to end Scotland’s World Cup dream.
After helping the Tannadice side all but confirm a top-six spot with a point at Hibs, the on-loan Manchester United midfielder laid out his plan for his country to be at Qatar 2022 in November.
A Dundee derby awaits this weekend for the 21-year-old where a point would be enough to guarantee their place. But he delivered a masterclass when picking his way through the politics of a possible play-off against Steve Clarke ’s side.
When asked if he would prefer the dark blues to Ukraine, Levitt picked his words carefully.
He said: “It would be a good game. An interesting game! Two good sets of fans and two really good nations fighting to get to a major tournament.
“I saw the draw and thought there’s a big massive chance for us to go through and to see your country at a World Cup would be a great feeling.
“My aim is to get into that squad come November. I’m still focused here and playing and keeping fit.
“I had a few words with the manager Robert Page and he was saying to keep doing what I’m doing. He said they’re noticing me every week and watching clips and stuff.”
A sickness bug kept the 10- times capped Levitt out of Wales’ draw with the Czech Republic in midweek but words of encouragement from his national boss and a quick recovery allowed Levitt to make a telling impact at Easter Road.
Levitt said: “The Welsh manager told me to get back to work here and make sure I’m ready to go back and not to worry about the illness. The first few days of the week I was ill. I came back up to Dundee on Thursday and trained lightly with the squad.
“On Friday I trained fully and felt alright then played today. It’s just good to be back playing, it was just a little fever.
“It wasn’t a great time to get it with the friendly game too as I was hoping to be involved in that. But it’s about getting right and looking after your own body.”
Levitt was an unused substitute in his nation’s win over Austria that lined up a possible collision course with Scotland and he fired out a warning about Real Madrid superstar and Wales skipper Gareth Bale after getting a bird’s eye view of his two goals in their play-off semi-final.
He said: “It was amazing. I was right behind it when I was warming up on the side.
“When we got that goal it kind of deflated them a bit and we knew the night was ours.
“The whole group is a close group and everyone speaks with everyone. As soon as I went there you could see the quality and on and off the pitch you can tell they’re down to earth human beings.
“Bale is a role model for me, watching Wales when I was growing up and being in the same squad it’s amazing.
“Even though he’s not playing in Madrid and the tough times there, you can see his quality is still there.
“He’s working day in day out to come and fight for his nation and it’s what he did that night.
“It was amazing for myself and my family and the whole country. We’re halfway there and the whole nation is behind us. I’m really looking forward to it.
“I’m getting a few comments here and there about the chance it could be Scotland next but it’s all jokes so I take it well and so do they.”
Levitt’s assessment of what’s required against Dundee on Saturday was clear but he also believes the draw at Hibs was more than merited.
He added: “It was a well-earned point. We played well but in the last minute of the first half we conceded which deflated us a little bit.
"We’ve still got a game next weekend so we focus on that and getting the three points but we’re confident going into that game.”
United opened the scoring in the 10th minute and it was a defensive calamity as Hibs twice lost headers inside their own box and were punished.
Tony Watt floated a cross into the area that was nodded on by Ryan Edwards for Ross Graham to glance past the outstretched hands of Kevin Dabrowski after climbing above Paul Hanlon. Another superbly executed finish for the Scotland U21 who bagged his first goal for his country midweek in a 2-2 draw in Kazakhstan.
Harry Clarke’s powerful effort was touched brilliantly over the top by Benjamin Siegrist.
But the on-loan Arsenal kid got the better of the United keeper on the stroke of half-time as he gathered a Nicky Cadden cross and spun inside the box to bury a low shot into the far corner.
