DUNDEE UNITED’S supporters have had little to enliven them in 2015 with dreadful results as hurtful as the sales of their major assets.

Jackie McNamara's side only managed three wins in their final 18 matches last season and they have lost five of their opening eight in this campaign – poor form influenced in some way by the departures of Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven and Nadir Ciftci to Celtic.

However, while Saturday’s tussle was frustrating as United should have claimed victory, the gloom is being lifted by the latest rising star to come through the Tannadice youth system.

Scott Fraser looks to have all of the potential to become a leading player and the United fans should enjoy watching his progression before his inevitable departure.

Team mate John Rankin knows there is something special in their midst and is predicting a very exciting future for Fraser, whose terrific close control and accurate passing made him the stand-out performer on Saturday.

However, he does not want to pressurise the 20-year-old, who was on loan to Airdrie last season, by equating his abilities to talented predecessors like Ryan Gauld, Johnny Russell or Andy Robertson.

"I have been really impressed with him,” said Rankin. "Last season when we had a weekend off, I took the time to go and see him playing for Airdrie.

"I was very impressed by him then and I have obviously seen him come through the youth ranks.

"He has made the step up and made it look effortless. He needs to continue doing what he has been doing so far.

"He has made a great impact on the team and has a big future ahead of him.

"Look, I don't want to put any pressure on Scott. At the moment he is enjoying his football and showing everyone how good he is.

"It is unfair to say he is as good as Ryan Gauld, Johnny Russell or Andy Robertson.

"So far the progression he has made since last season has been unreal and if he keeps that going, who knows where he can go?"

Where United need to go is in search of a victory with just one in eight league matches this season which means they are occupying 11th position in the table.

They should have claimed three points on Saturday having taken a seventh minute lead, almost inevitably through former Inverness striker Billy McKay, but Rankin missed a glorious opportunity to make it 2-0 and United lived to regret that miss with Josh Meekings heading an equaliser from Ryan Christie’s corner 11 minutes into the second half.

They now face a potentially perilous League Cup tie tomorrow night against Dunfermline, who have scored 26 goals in seven League One matches this season.

Rankin rued his miss but believes one victory can act as a springboard to improve their season dramatically.

He said: "It is disappointing because it was a great opportunity and I felt I should have scored. If we had gone 2-0 ahead it would have given us something to defend.

“We believe there is a win coming. If we can reproduce the intensity we did in the first half against Inverness then we will make a lot of progress in the coming weeks."

Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s opening to the campaign has been equally unimpressive with only one win but goalscorer Meekings believes the return of Richie Foran, who missed 16 months with a knee injury, can aid their recovery.

The 35-year-old club captain played the last nine minutes for his first league action since March last year.

Meekings said: "It is a massive boost. He is a big character in the dressing room. Everyone knows how strong a character he is.

"I think he will bring a lot up top for us. He is a big physical presence and I don't think the centre halves liked it when he came on at the end. I wouldn't like it if he was coming on against me.

"We know the type of player he is and he will be able to keep the spirits up in the dressing room too.”

Meekings feels the Highlanders might have clinched victory after his leveller as he could sense the fear among the Dundee United players.

He said: “We made a sloppy start to the match which cost us a goal but we improved after the break and got at them a lot more.

"We created a few chances and could maybe have gone on to win it in the end.

"They were getting anxious towards the end. It is a difficult period for them but we have had a sticky start ourselves.

"We know how difficult it can be. We showed our quality in the end but unfortunately we couldn't quite get the three points."