In recognition of his contribution to the most successful period in the club's history, Milne has been inducted into the Dundee United Hall of Fame alongside several of his former teammates.
He returned to the First Division after being signed by Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in November 1988 for a £170,000 fee but failed to restart his career.
Barring a brief spell in Hong Kong with Sing Tao, Milne played his last first-team game as a professional at the age of 28.
[4] He began his football career as a youth with Dundee Celtic Boys Club, where he played initially as a striker and had a prolific goalscoring record.
[5] Milne signed for Dundee United in January 1976 and, after a couple of seasons in the reserves, began to feature for the first team during the 1979–80 campaign.
[6] Milne scored his first Premier Division goal on 8 September in a 2–2 draw away against Celtic, netting the equaliser with a long-range shot.
[8] United retained the League Cup, though Milne did not feature in the final victory over their Dundee derby rivals at Dens Park.
[12] Dundee United reached another final in the 1981–82 season, and Milne scored the opening goal in the 1981 Scottish League Cup Final on 28 November 1981, latching onto a pass from Paul Sturrock and striking a low powerful shot past the Rangers goalkeeper; however Rangers went on to controversially win 2–1 after another goal for Dundee United, "scored" by Sturrock, had been disallowed for offside.
The day after his 22nd birthday, Milne opened the scoring against local rivals Dundee with a skilfully executed long-distance chipped shot; the match finished 2–1 to United.
Milne scored doubles against Hamrun Spartans[23] and Standard Liège[24] as United reached the semi-final, losing 3–2 on aggregate to Roma in an ill-tempered tie.
[29] However, after the game, the pair again fell out because of a brief conversation Milne had with Brian Clough which led McLean to believe the player was trying to arrange a deal away from United; by this time Milne had grown increasingly frustrated over being frequently fined a week's wages for breaking minor club rules and generally offending McLean's strict sense of discipline.
[39][40] He played at Wembley Stadium in the final of the Full Members Cup on 29 March, which ended in a 1–0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers.
Milne only played as a late substitute in the first leg at Selhurst Park and ended the game with a broken jaw after being elbowed by Micky Adams.
[4][47] Milne's form at Bristol City was enough to convince Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson that he was still worth a contract with a top-flight club.
The first was a 20-yard volley on 3 December 1988 in a 3–0 home win over former club Charlton Athletic, which ended United's nine-match winless run (eight draws and a defeat) in the First Division.
[50] The following week, Milne played what he felt was his best game in a Manchester United jersey in a 3–1 New Year's victory over rivals Liverpool.
[52] Milne scored his third and final United goal on 25 March 1989 in a 2–0 home win over Luton Town, once again in the league.
[59] Ferguson defended the signing by pointing out Milne's contribution to the development of Lee Sharpe, who was playing left-back at the time.
He spent a year there, helping the club to finish fourth in the First Division in 1991–92, before he rejected the offer of a new contract and instead returned to Britain.
[65][66] Milne made his debut for the Scotland under-21 side on 8 September 1981 at the age of 20, when he on came as a substitute for Alan Brazil during a 4–0 win over Sweden in Edinburgh.
[71] Former Dundee United teammate Paul Hegarty stated that Milne possessed great pace, as well as bravery, a good work ethic, and an ability to score important goals.
[72] Another former Dundee United teammate, Davie Dodds, said that Milne was as good a finisher as any player in Scottish football during the 1980s.