United Debut: v. Rangers (H) 1-1 17/12/00.

Signed From: Oxford United £80,000 14/12/00.

Transferred to: Livingston 3/7/03.

After spells with Morton, Leeds, Hearts and Oxford United, Lilley was snapped up by Alex Smith midway through the 2000/01 season, and he scored on his debut against Rangers at Tannadice in a 1-1 draw. United were struggling at the bottom of the table, but along with other new signings Charlie Miller and Jim Lauchlan, Lilley helped turn things around as United reached the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup and only lost 3 League games in the second half of the season. Lilley finished as United's top scorer, scored in a 2-0 win at Ibrox and scored the late winner in the second last game of the season at McDiarmid Park as United fought back from two goals down against St Johnstone to stay in the Premier League. Lilley wasn't as prolific over the next couple of seasons, scoring only 10 more goals, but returned to McDiarmid park to score a hat-trick in a 4-1 win in 2002. When his contract ran out after the 2002/03 season, Lilley left for Livingston.