The highlight of his Dundee career was in their 1971–72 UEFA Cup run, when Dundee beat German side FC Koln, but went out to AC Milan despite a 2-0 victory in the home leg. These high-profile games brought him to the attention of English clubs and soon Leeds United and Southampton (alerted by their former player and scout, Campbell Forsyth) expressed an interest. Dens boss Davie White accepted an offer of £80,000 from Saints manager Ted Bates and Steele was off to The Dell.