Let’s assume it’s not the players, because we have now, and also have had previously, some very good players. That’s not to say that we couldn’t buy better players, of course we could, but our squad easily [at least] matches the squads of those around us in the league. We have had umpteen managers since Ivan Golac won us the cup - Billy Kirkwood, Tommy McLean, Paul Sturrock, Alex Smith, Paul Hegarty, Ian McCall, all of whom have had ZERO effect on lifting the club out of the relegation mire. We’ve had some seasons that have been slightly better than others, for example, Ian McCall’s respectable finish in his only full season, but generally we have simply been shocking, no matter what the personnel.
We simply cannot seem to play well for more than one game in a row. We have not won two games in a row, in the league, since April! And one of those was an extremely fortunate victory at Ibrox. That is a shocking statistic, and needless to say we haven’t won two in a row this season either. Another cracker is that Livi and Dunfermline have only won one game at home each, against us! Simply shocking. But what bugs most of all is the yet another false dawn in the defeat of Hibs, a decent side.
Next week’s home game against Dunfermline is now vital. This week, Livi helped themselves to three points and got off the bottom of the table – next week Dunfermline could do the same, and with United in such a generous mood, who’d bet against it?
This is a tricky time for United. We know that if this period of poor performances stretches on for say another eight seasons, fans will eventually start to drift away from the club and attendances will fall, as will, consequently, revenue. Also, if we flirt with relegation often enough, eventually we’ll get it!! This would also affect revenue, attendances etc, so we simply have to improve. This is not a go at Dundee, but we don’t wanna end up like they are now. That should be motivation enough.