Dundee United’s poor league form followed them into the Scottish Cup at the weekend. After losing 6-2 to Ross County on the back of picking up one Championship point out of nine, Courier Sport identifies three reasons for United fans to keep the faith, and three reasons to be concerned.
CHEERFUL
1 They have the right manager in place
You never get football fans to agree on much but surely most, if not all, United supporters accept that Ray McKinnon is the right manager for them at this time.
Having gone through the agony of Jackie McNamara’s demise and the trauma of relegation under Mixu Paatelainen, the last thing the Tangerines need is for McKinnon to come under any sort of pressure during this difficult time for the club.
Indeed, I firmly believe United would be best served by keeping him in the dugout even if they fail to get back up to the Premiership this season.
If any fan can come up with a realistic alternative who would do better under the circumstances then good luck to them but I was convinced McKinnon was the right man in the summer and nothing has happened since to change my mind.
2 That unbeaten run shows they know how to succeed in the Championship
A 14-game unbeaten run right up to and including Christmas Eve had the Tangerines sitting pretty at the top of the tree.
That has been replaced by a four-match winless streak that has made 2017 an annus horribilis for United thus far.
Those of us who followed the side during the run that ended in the Hogmanay wind and rain at Dumbarton were not surprised when it came to an end because some of the performances hadn’t been great.
However, they still should not have lost at Dumbarton, a result that handed Hibs the psychological as well as points advantage for the following Friday.
What the run has done, though, is shown the players they can be successful at this level. If they have been winners before then they can be so again in the week and months ahead.
3 There is still the prospect of new players before the transfer window shuts
United have already been busy in the January transfer window with their signing of frontman Thomas Mikkelsen.
It is still too early to judge the Dane but regardless of how he does the Tangerines need to do more business this month.
Just as United crept up on his team in the table, wily Hibs boss Neil Lennon brought in real quality in Kris Commons and Chris Humphrey.
Both played major roles in the destruction of United at Easter Road and showed how much of an impact new talent can have on a club.
The Hibees, admittedly with greater resources, have left their one-time title rivals trailing in their wake.
You can argue that the Tannadice men have left it too late to make a real difference to the promotion race with any new buy but McKinnon remains determined to add to his squad and the right player can still transform this United team.
FEARFUL
1 The unconvincing case for the defence
In what seems like the blink of an eye, United have gone from keeping six successive clean sheets and goalie Cammy Bell chasing a club shut-out record to having one of the leakiest defences in the country.
The six goals shipped at Ross County on Saturday took their tally to 12 against in just three matches. That would be unacceptable for any team at any level and such generosity cannot continue or their season will crash and burn.
Bell remains a good keeper and is arguably McKinnon’s best signing, while William Edjenguele and Mark Durnan’s partnership in the centre was the rock on which the unbeaten run was built.
However, the full-back positions have been a chronic problem, regardless of the combination picked by the manager. Having replaced Paul Dixon and Lewis Toshney with Jamie Robson and Frank van der Struijk and still been hit for six by County it is difficult to see how United solve that problem.
2 Second place could become the best-case scenario very quickly
The message from Tannadice this week will be one of defiance and that’s to be expected.
However, that won’t change the fact that they are six points behind Hibs – realistically seven if you factor in the goal difference – so can’t afford to throw away any points between now and the end of the season.
Realistically, they are probably just one defeat for them and a win for Hibs away from the race looking all but over. That trip to in-form Dunfermline this weekend suddenly looks incredibly tricky.
It is one thing motivating players for a title battle and the prospect of a medal at the end of the season and another thing preparing them for a play-off that would involve four end-of-season matches at the very least.
You would worry about morale should the gap become too big with months of the season still to go.
3 The play-off final – if they get there – will be against team similar to Ross County
For me, the most worrying thing to come out of that shocking Scottish Cup result in Dingwall was that United will be facing a team similar in standard to the Staggies if they make it to the play-off final.
Let’s remember, of course, that one of United’s best results of the season came against Premiership opposition – the 3-1 win over Partick Thistle in the Betfred Cup.
Nevertheless, we all know the odds are stacked against the Championship side in the end-of-season finale.
What United would have in their favour going into two legs against a Hamilton or Inverness is their fan base. You would expect their supporters to vastly outnumber those of their opponents and give them, as the “bigger” club, an advantage in that respect.
However, the County defeat is a stark reminder that teams from a higher division tend to have better players than those from a league below.
