As some of you know, the next nine months will be rather akin to entering the tardis for this commentator. It's a great thrill and and a tremendous honour to be back broadcasting Scottish football. Craig Burley, Darrell Currie and I certainly had a cracker to cover in our first ESPN game from the Clydesdale Bank Premier League at Tannadice Park.

I must admit to having smiled to myself when informed that Tannadice was the venue for the opening fixture. As a young broadcaster in the Eighties, I spent many a happy afternoon and evening commentating on Dundee United as they bucked the trends of the time under the shrewd management of Jim McLean.

In a strange sort of way, as walked along Tannadice Street on Monday night for the first time in quite a while, I half expected McLean to slide out from his old office and ask me to show him my press pass.

These days of course, Craig Levein is the United boss and I very much enjoyed the pre-match chat we had with him before the meeting with his old club, Hearts. Levein is one of the game's deep thinkers and he has put together a squad that must have an excellent chance of finishing third in this season's Scottish Premier League.

The star of the Monday show was of course Danny Cadamarteri. Clearly very motivated to make an impact on Tayside, Cadamarteri's movement and general know-how gave a makeshift Hearts back four plenty to think about. That he was named man of the match was entirely justified and not just on the strength of an impressive two goal contribution.

You might not immediately think of Cadamarteri as the ideal striking partner for young David Goodwillie, but Levein has no other options at present with last season's top scorer, Fran Sandaza and Jon Daly out injured. Goodwillie, scorer of five goals in an undefeated pre-season, also put in a tremendous shift, leading us to wonder if this might be his time to make a significant climb up the footballing ladder.

Csaba Laszlo and Werner Burger, the Hearts managerial duo, were also good enough to spend a couple of minutes giving me their thoughts before the game. Laszlo and Burger studied for their coaching licence together and view football very much through the same prism.

You have to feel a bit for Hearts as this is no ordinary week. Three games in six days – two away from home, one tester in Europe and the small matter of defending SPL champions Rangers at home. That's no bargain.

Apart from the over-exuberant performance of captain Michael Stewart, who was rightly sent off, there were many plus points for Laszlo's team. They were in the game for long spells and kept plugging away even after being reduced to ten men early in the second half.

It's clear though, that a proven goalscorer remains the biggest signing priority for Csaba Laszlo. Christian Nade is an effective enough leader of the line, but by no means a prolific finisher.

As for Tannadice itself, it hasn't changed much over the years and for me that's reassuring. Tight and compact, it was always one of my favourite grounds. Unfortunately, amid the scrambling to get ready for our first broadcast of the season, I didn't have time to sample any Tayside pies.

I'll just have to save that culinary treat for my next visit.