I’m not surprised – in fact, I’m pleased – Dundee United have gone with another young Scottish manager in Liam Fox.
I think everyone knew it was going to happen.
Being in post already as interim and seeing the players react positively, putting in decent performances, were a huge plus for him in terms of convincing Tony Asghar and the board.
Fan reaction has been mixed at best, I would say.
Many are underwhelmed – they want an experienced man, a bigger name maybe.
That is easier said than done and sometimes a club needs to take a gamble. It worked with Tam Courts.
Pressure
Now, though, comes the real pressure for Fox.
I think expectations are different for him rather than a new man coming in.
He won’t get the same amount of leeway from the stands because he’s been in the job for a few weeks now anyway.
St Johnstone at home is a game Dundee United fans will expect to win.
Big issue to fix
I’ve been banging on about it for years – the balance in that midfield just isn’t right.
Creating chances and scoring goals was a real problem last season but it wasn’t like United had poor strikers.
Now they’ve improved the frontline but there is still an issue.
It will be interesting to see if Fox changes the set-up of the team over the next couple of games to try to sort out the middle of the park.
Ramp up
Because United need to get their first three points on the board sharpish.
The pressure will ramp up if they don’t get that victory over the next few games.
But the United players have shown this season they can put a serious performance together in beating AZ at home.
Now Fox has to find that again – if he doesn’t, pressure will be on.
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