Jamie McGrath insists fan protests had no bearing on Dundee United’s below par performance at Kilmarnock.
But the Tangerines star says his fellow players CAN ease supporter discontent by doing the business on the pitch.
United were far from their best as defeat to Kilmarnock sent them back to the bottom of the Premiership.
Supporters made their unhappiness clear about their side’s performance – and a quiet January transfer window – clear at Rugby Park.
But McGrath insists that had no influence on the team’s performance.
Asked whether the character exists in the United dressing room to ensure they fight their way out of trouble, McGrath said: “Oh yeah, we’ve got big characters in the changing room.
“There are a lot of experienced players who have played at the very highest level. So I don’t think that character is any issue.
“[The fan protests], I wasn’t even aware of such things. Our job is to go out and try to put on the best performance that we can.
“Unfortunately, we were not up to scratch against Kilmarnock and that is all that we can reflect on.”
One sure fire way to turn a disgruntled fanbase into a happy one is via victories.
McGrath is keenly aware of that – and that’s why he’s pleased United are heading straight back into action at the weekend, even if it is against third placed Hearts.
“That’s the beauty of it,” he said.
“At least it’s not a Saturday to Saturday. We can look forward to a game now.
“There will be disappointment and heads will be low straight after Kilmarnock, but it’s a quick turnaround, we’ll recover and have a game plan for going into the Hearts game.
“The boys showed on Christmas Eve that we have the beating of them, so we can only take confidence from that going into Saturday.”
United fans had hoped for reinforcements to boost their battle to beat the drop in January.
In the end, while Tony Watt went out to St Mirren, the only player checking in at Tannadice was teenage defender Loick Ayina, who arrived on loan from Huddersfield.
McGrath is confident, however, that the players United have can turn things around, as long as they each take more responsibility to weigh in with goals.
“We have to score goals from all over the pitch, so I have to take responsibility with that. Everyone does,” he said.
“As I said, Fletch (Steven Fletcher, who saw a spot kick saved at Kilmarnock) has done amazing for us all season.
“Everyone misses penalties and that was not on him at all.
“We just have to react better as a team in those moments. When the momentum swings, we have to try and dig in as best we can.”
Hearts will provide a stiff test for United on Saturday.
However, McGrath is staying positive – and hopes learning the lessons of Rugby Park will stand them in good stead for Tynecastle.
“There was nothing in the start of the game,” he said.
“Both teams were 50-50, I thought. Fletch obviously had his penalty saved and I think that knocked a bit of stuffing out of us and a bit of momentum.
“Ultinately, they got their goal in that period and we had to ride the storm and see it out until half-time because they were on top.
“We did that and I think we started the second-half alright. We didn’t create as much as we wanted, but I thought we started on top.
“We wavered towards the end of the game and they were probably unlucky not to score another goal or two.”
Conversation