William Edjenguele doesn’t pretend the criticism that followed Dundee United’s home draw with Dumbarton last week was nice to be on the receiving end of.
But he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Despite taking just one point from their last two games, the Tangerines are only two points off the top of the Championship and a win at Falkirk today could put them in first place.
If that doesn’t happen, the supporters won’t be happy but, again, the big Frenchman doesn’t want to see that altered.
Because, so long as the demands of Arabs are high, the “Edje” knows he’s at a big club and the right one for him.
“This is where you want to be. You can ask any player in the world and they should tell you that,” he said.
“I don’t know if it quite works in English but what we say in French is you have to invite this kind of pressure because it means you are at the right kind of club.
“I do not want to be somewhere where it is OK to lose every few games, be fifth or sixth in your league.
“I want to be at a club where you are expected to be at the top and must go into every game looking to win.
“That is what the expectation is here and that is how it should be. This is a club that should be getting promotion.”
And Edjenguele has assured Arabs the players were hurting after the Dumbarton draw and every bit as frustrated as them.
“It was a disappointing result, especially being at home. It doesn’t matter the team we play, you expect us to win when we play at Tannadice.
“It was frustrating and everyone was disappointed. The great thing about football is another game comes and this is a good one. Hopefully, we can go to Falkirk, play better than last week and come back with a victory.
“Then everything will be OK. It would be a big win. Falkirk have not started well but it is too early to look at the table and think who is a good team and who is not.
“It does not matter where Falkirk are in the table. It is always a tough place to go and they are a good team and a squad with good players.”
Falkirk is also the place where Edjenguele had his most enjoyable game so far in tangerine.
It came when Ray McKinnon’s team performed superbly to battle back from a goal down in the play-off semi-final second leg to win.
That night in May was another reminder to him where United should be.
“The play-off game was nice to be in. I think it is the best game so far in my time at Dundee United.
“There was a big support, the fans were behind the team and, when Paul Dixon got the goal to get us through to the final, it was a great moment, one when we were all together.
“It was great and, hopefully, we can go there and make the same feeling. But we must realise that is gone, it is in the past.
“You can’t dwell on it too much. It is a different season, different players and a different situation.”
It is, he insists, a team that has the quality to live up to that expectation he talked about and he accepts now is the right time to go out and show that.
“Every day we are together on that training field it is crystal clear how much quality there is in the squad. But there is nothing like a game and that is where you have to show it.
“The pressure of the game is when it is hardest to show you are good. I have every faith as players we can do that.
“I do think, with the amount of changes we have made in the summer, it is still sort of a new team, so it can take time. But it will come.”
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