Craig Levein pledged his future to Dundee United yesterday and revealed that he nurses a secret ambition of making the Tannadice club champions of Scotland once again. The manager signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at United until 2012 and believes that, within that time-frame, his side can challenge for the title.

The last time Dundee United won the championship was in 1983 but Levein feels it is not impossible for the club to think about eclipsing Celtic and Rangers, who have shared out the past 23 titles. The 44-year-old feels his project at Tannadice is a long-term one and that was why he agreed to extend his stay.

Dundee United supporters feared that their highly-rated manager would be heading back to England soon, after Levein revealed last week that he had been contacted about the vacancy at Watford. Levein had an ill-fated spell at Leicester City but has rebuilt his reputation so well at Dundee United that he was thought to be on the radar of various Coca-Cola Championship chairmen in a division populated by Scots, such as Alex McLeish (Birmingham City), Owen Coyle (Burnley), Alan Irvine (Preston North End) and Paul Sturrock (Plymouth Argyle).

However, Levein feels a deep sense of commitment to Dundee United, whom he felt rescued him in 2006 after he had dropped out of the spotlight at Raith Rovers to recover from the damage done to his standing by his Leicester tenure.

Levein had a close relationship with the late Eddie Thompson, before the former owner's recent death from cancer, and admitted yesterday that he had come to an agreement with Thompson's son, Stephen, the new chairman, several months ago to extend his stay, but the pair decided to delay the announcement during Eddie's final days.

“I would never say never,” Levein said yesterday when asked if Dundee United could win the Clydesdale Bank Premier League. “I would never say that the league is an impossibility. There are a number of things that make it more difficult, obviously the spending power of the Old Firm and Hearts as well. The other thing is that you start to lose players when you're doing well. There are things that make it more difficult but I would never rule it out.”

Levein's contract was due to expire next summer. He joined United in October 2006 but was handed an additional role as director of football at the club earlier this year. His backroom team, Peter Houston, the assistant, and the reserve team coach, Gary Kirk, have signed similar contract extensions.

Levein has performed the task he also did at Heart of Midlothian and Leicester, of cutting the wage bill down to size, yet still producing a side capable of matching the top teams. He led United to the CIS Insurance Cup final and fifh place last season, and this term the team is in fourth place in the Premier League, in a fight with Hearts for the Uefa Cup place.

“I thoroughly enjoy working at this club and I'm genuinely excited about the future prospects for the squad of players we now have,” Levein said. “I also have a great relationship with the supporters and the board. So, when Stephen first raised the matter of extending my stay, it really didn't take long to consult with my family and decide to accept the offer.”

Stephen Thompson admitted that he felt that Levein's growing popularity made it vital that United finance the manager's contract extension. “I have been working closely with Craig on a number of important football-related issues for some months now, but I always knew my main priority was to ensure that we secured his services for a longer term,” he said.

“We began discussions some time ago and, while it was clear at an early stage that the outcome of these would be positive, neither of us thought that it was appropriate to continue these discussions, or make any announcements, while my father was so seriously ill. However, we both now think that the time is right to move forward and I'm absolutely delighted to announce that Craig and his management team have extended their stay at United for a further period.”