BARRY DOUGLAS has insisted Dundee United’s home form is not a crisis.
The Tangerines full-back does admit, however, that they have only got themselves to blame for the number of draws they have racked up at Tannadice this season.
Seven out of United’s last nine matches on their own patch have finished in a stalemate. Make that eight, if you include the League Cup tie with Hearts finishing level after 90 minutes and extra-time.
The latest was the Boxing Day draw against St Johnstone, another match in which Peter Houston’s men let a lead slip.
“It was another frustrating day at the office,” Douglas said. “It was disappointing after a great start.
“We are not short of scoring goals or creating chances our problems are coming at the other end. We are letting stupid goals in and we need to nullify it.
“I wouldn’t say it’s down to individual errors, it’s just that we keep letting goals in.
“There is a feeling we will score goals in every game we go into, so if we can get the other side right we should be able to go on a good run.”
He added: “We have got to believe in ourselves, but we should have turned a lot of these draws into wins.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a crisis though. We’ve only actually lost a couple of them.
“It’s not like we are not getting points but we are letting teams back into games they shouldn’t be in.”
United who are at home to St Mirren on Sunday are the most high-profile example but they are certainly not the only SPL side to find wins easier to find on the road.
“There might be other sides struggling at home but it’s not something playing on our minds,” Douglas added.
“We’re more concerned with these draws and it is the same with our away results because there’s games we should have been winning.
“There’s no panic though. If we hadn’t put a point on the board since August we would be panicking.
“The fans need to be patient, they see we are creating chances and scoring goals.
“We just need to be tighter at the back and stop conceding silly goals.
“It may be better for the league that every side is so close, and anybody on their day can beat anyone.
“But it’s not great for us. We need to be more ruthless and start closing out games.”
enicolson@thecourier.co.uk