Liam Fox insists Dundee United’s 2-1 triumph over Livingston must not be a “flash in the pan”.
The Tangerines teed up a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final showdown against Kilmarnock thanks to goals from Steven Fletcher and Ian Harkes.
United had to display plenty of late resilience after a Kurtis Guthrie strike halved arrears and Sean Kelly rattled the post.
In their first match since Jack Ross’ sacking, Fox praised his players for restoring some “personal pride” in the aftermath of a bruising period.
However, he was at pains to emphasise that the triumph in West Lothian — a first since 2005 — was just the start.
“I asked them for a reaction off the back of a period of poor results, culminating in Jack losing his job,” said interim head coach Fox.
“Their personal pride has been called into question and we needed a response. I think they answered that.
“But it’s only one step on the way to hopefully getting back to where the club wants to — and needs to — be. The players have taken flak and I hope they are feeling better about themselves tonight.
“But this cannot just be a flash in the pan. That was the last thing I said to them in the dressing room.
“They’ll get credit on the back of tonight and we are through to the next round — which is great — but we’ve now got a difficult game on Saturday away to Motherwell and we need to build on this.”
The big question
Asked what he would say to supporters who might question where the resilience, organisation and tempo was during a dismal run of results under Ross, Fox added: “Totally. And that’s a fair point.
“But all we can try to do, as a staff and a group of players, for as along as I’m here — that could be a day, a week, or longer, who knows? — is to repay some of those poor results and move forward.”
Fox, making his first selection as interim, restored the likes of Tony Watt and Charlie Mulgrew to the starting line-up.
Watt was excellent and linked up superbly with man of the match Fletcher, while Mulgrew was key to a gutsy defensive showing.
“I thought we needed our most experienced team on the pitch,” added Fox. “I think I got a decent response from them.
“But the players won the game, not the coaches.”
Conversation