As they stare another disappointing end to a promotion bid in the face, Dundee United could do with someone coming up with a Churchillian speech.
An address to the troops that would have them fired up and ready for battle when they burst from the dressing-room on Friday night to try and turn around their 3-2 deficit in the second leg of their Premiership play-off semi-final against Livingston.
Under normal circumstances, no problem you’d say, club captain Willo Flood is your man.
Never backwards at coming forwards when something needs saying, the Irishman did just that when he ripped into his team-mates during half-time in the quarter-final second leg against Dunfermline.
Verbally he kicked a few backsides and the result was a storming second half from the Tangerines that saw them come back from a goal down to book the semi slot against Livi.
Problem is, of course, Flood’s moment of frustrated madness in the final moments of Monday night’s first game of the semi, that ended with him being shown a red card and storming off, means in 48 hours he will not be in the dressing-room.
At the Tony Macaroni Arena, he’ll have to watch from the stand because of an automatic one-game ban.
While that means his ability with the ball at his feet will be missed, even more significant will be the absence of the influence he has on this team.
Because when standards drop – and let’s face it that’s been a regular occurrence this season – Flood more than anyone is the man who gets in about the team verbally and forces them to raise their game.
Recently he’s been aided in that task by the arrival of defender Bilel Mohsni. As well as adding steel to the rearguard, the big Tunisian has quickly become another voice that isn’t slow to be raised when people are not doing what they should be.
Such has been United’s luck this season, there now looks a very good chance he will also be missing from the dressing-room.
A groin injury suffered in the closing minutes on Monday night has left Mohsni a big doubt for the return leg and manager Csaba Laszlo, for one, is not betting on him making it.
If that’s the case, the sad truth is it might just be an absence too far for the Tangerines as they try to save their season and that dream of a Premiership return.
Not that the team that runs out won’t, in terms of ability, have enough to pull off the kind of victory required.
The first two minutes and last 13 apart, on Monday night they showed when they play at their best, there is isn’t a side in the second tier that can live with them.
They dominated Livingston for most of the first leg and having come back from the loss of an early goal to go 2-1 up, should have extended the lead.
Instead they turned victory into defeat with comical defending and that’s been the story of their season.
For every period in games when they’ve looked a side capable of getting up to the Premiership and staying there, there’s been another when the kind of mistakes amateurs make have killed them.
That cost them any chance of automatic promotion long before the regular season was out.
Now it’s left them right up against it as they head to a ground where they’ve already lost twice this season.
And without a Flood or a Mohsni to get the rest of the team going, winning on Friday night is looking a very big ask.
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