Dylan Levitt is adamant the candour of Dundee United head coach Liam Fox can only help his development as a player.
Fox laid down a no-nonsense challenge to Levitt following a poor performance in the Tangerines’ 1-0 defeat against Motherwell last month, resulting in the World Cup-bound Welshman being withdrawn at half-time.
Fox made it clear that he “expects better” on a consistent basis from the ex-Manchester United kid, such is his undoubted natural talent.
The comments — largely effusive in their praise of Levitt, while acknowledging a dip in form — were nothing that had not been conveyed in private.
And Levitt responded in a sensational style in subsequent showdowns against Celtic and Kilmarnock.
Reflecting on his honest conversations with Fox, Levitt said: “That helps a lot with your development.
“It helps you off the pitch as well; you can reflect on the clips and what you have done in games. Then you put that all back into your training and try your best in the next game.
“You’ve got to take everything in, work hard and turn it into a positive. Everyone has to assess their own performances.”
Crazy
As well as taking on board the words from his manager, Levitt insists he is strong enough to handle the slings and arrows of criticism.
“We are all in a sport where criticism is everywhere,” continued Levitt.
“Even the top players at the very highest level receive criticism, which can be crazy because they have shown everyone what they are capable of during the years.
“But games come thick and fast and you get it out of your head quickly and move on to the next one.”
And Levitt has illustrated that he is more than capable of that.
He entered the fray against Celtic last Saturday and literally did not misplace a pass — registering 17 out of 17 attempted — and notched the goal which briefly brought the score back to 2-2.
Levitt then produced a midweek midfield masterclass against Kilmarnock, rounding off the scoring in a 4-0 triumph.
And he is determined to maintain that momentum against Aberdeen on Saturday — and send the Tangerines into the World Cup hiatus on a high.
“It’s been good to get a couple of goals — and you always want to get a couple of results before going in to a break,” added Levitt.
“A win on Saturday would just top it off and allow us to go into the break with a lot of positivity.
“As a team, as a whole, you can see what we can do when everyone is on it.
“We could have had a few more (against Killie). We did really well from minute one to minute 90. That’s what we are capable of and what we need to do game-in, game-out.”
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