Arbroath captain Tam O’Brien reckons the Lichties’ meek defeat against Dundee United will be an “eye-opener” for the Championship new-boys within the squad.
However, the experienced defender is adamant the Gayfield outfit DO have the quality to enjoy a fine campaign in the second tier.
United romped to a 4-0 victory on Friday night, with Dick Campbell’s side displaying an uncharacteristic lack of aggression and organisation.
Afforded far too much room in which to operate, Glenn Middleton, Mathew Cudjoe, Craig Sibbald and Louis Moult all found the net, while Sibbald and Scott McMann rattled the woodwork.
And O’Brien expects the bruising evening to act as a steep learning curve, with the likes of Jermaine Hylton, Jay Bird, Aaron Steele and Kenan Dunnwald-Turan all making their Championship debuts.
Mathew Cudjoe with the chip! 🤤
Dundee United are 2-0 up inside the opening 25 minutes!#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/BN2uG05kL4
— BBC Sport Scotland (@BBCSportScot) August 4, 2023
“We’ve assembled a right good squad here,” asserted O’Brien.
“There are a few new players who have never played in the Scottish Championship before and Friday will be an eye-opener for them; how quick the tempo is and how you need to press as a team.
“You don’t get a minute. And I think we let them (United) out too easily at times.
“We have a lot of new players and are still working on our shape. Sometimes, we are caught between pressing and not pressing in packs. Usually we do that really well as a team, but are probably not quite there yet.
“We’ll be working hard on the training pitch to sort that.”
He added: “United are a good team and we’ll not be judged on that. It’s the first game of the season and there’s a long way to go yet.”
‘Worst possible start’ says Arbroath’s Tam O’Brien
And O’Brien has no qualms with that assessment, insisting the margin of defeat was as much down to the hosts’ failings as the Tangerines’ quality.
“The fans turned up in their numbers and we gave them the worst possible start really,” rued O’Brien. “The goals we gave away were very poor.
“The first one gives United a massive lift and, from there, we need to look at each other — myself included. The goals we lost are not good enough.
“You are always up against it when you concede goals like we did. United are a quality team with good players but we’re very disappointed by our part.”
He added: “Sometimes teams work brilliantly and carve you open — whereas I think we could have done better on all the goals on Friday.”
