Jack Walton insists gutted Dundee United stars laid out the “facts” during candid talks in the aftermath of their disappointing 3-2 defeat against Morton.
However, the Tangerines goalkeeper is adamant there is no sense of “panic” following a third failure to win in their last five Championship fixtures.
George Oakley notched a perfect hat-trick at Tannadice and bullied the hosts throughout, with United turning in an uncharacteristically tame defensive showing.
You need to have conversations about the facts.
Jack Walton
Walton and co. have garnered plenty of praise this term, having only conceded seven league goals in 18 games prior to the weekend – but that doesn’t make the failings against the Ton any more palatable.
Asked about the mood in the dressing room following the meek loss, Walton said: “We have a really good group of lads and we’re a close unit, but that means you need to have conversations about the facts, too.
“We won’t accept that (performance); we didn’t do the basics right and collectively we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Nobody hides away from that.
“Normally, I have been talking about how good we are defensively, but we weren’t on Saturday, and it has cost us.”
He added: “You can’t get too low and just because we’ve lost a game, it doesn’t mean anyone is panicking. But it’s a reality check.”
Handling the pressure
The reverse – United’s second in the league this season, both of which have been at Tannadice – blew an opportunity to usurp Raith Rovers at the summit following their defeat at Airdrie.
And the full-time whistle was met with the ire of Arabs.
However, Walton has no doubt United have the character and quality to handle their status as title favourites.
🤌
George Oakley's perfect hat-trick pic.twitter.com/yycRD9tf3d
— Greenock Morton (@Morton_FC) January 7, 2024
“The pressure is on us, as the club that came down from the Premiership,” continued the on-loan Luton Town man. “We understand that pressure – but we were never going to have it our way all season.
“Each game has different challenges, and we have the tools and the players to break them down. But you NEED to do the basics right and we didn’t do that against Morton.
“If you come to a big club like Dundee United, you accept the pressure. That’s the expectation of the supporters. We need to control (the pressure) and use it positively.
“The lads all understand that.”
Response needed
A response will be demanded when United travel to Inverness on Friday night in their final match before a 15-day break.
“This is a hard league,” continued Walton. “I hadn’t played in it before but any league that only has one team going up automatically; that means there’s no margin for error.
“We have to analyse Saturday, see what we need to do better and put it into action for another hard game against Inverness on Friday.”
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