Dundee United skipper Sean Dillon insists the players at Tannadice are putting enough pressure on themselves to pick up results without the need for others piling it on.
United earned their second point of the season at Easter Road with a 1-1 draw with Hibs, although it perhaps could and should have been all three after Stuart Armstrong had given the Tangerines a deserved first-half lead.
However, a stalemate did little to ease the heat on under-fire Hibs boss Pat Fenlon and even United boss Jackie McNamara who has come in for stick from some supporters on internet forums in recent weeks.
But that sort of talk has been dismissed by Dillon, who revealed the United players are setting their own standards and remain fully focused on turning their fortunes around.
He said: “Personally, message boards to me now are a waste of time. The last thing you want to do is be taking on board what everybody else is saying around you because you can get drawn up in that whether it’s negative or positive.
“You don’t want to be thinking just because someone thinks you’ve had a great game you’ve had a great game.
“It’s all about opinions and it’s the way football is. You lose a few games or things aren’t happening and the fans are getting on your case; you are under pressure all of a sudden.
“As a player or a manager, I’m sure we put ourselves under enough pressure to get a result and go out and do the best that you can do.
“So personally I don’t read too much in to what everybody else is saying.”
When it comes to pressure, Hibs boss Fenlon is feeling it in abundance right now and is continuing to face calls from the Easter Road boo boys to quit.
But Dillon has tipped his former manager to come good.
“I’ve a lot of time for him,” the United captain said. “I had one season under him and it’s easy for me to praise him because he played me nearly every game.
“It was my first time in full-time football and I couldn’t say a bad thing about him.
“Obviously in his programme notes he was talking about digging deep and that sort of thing, but that’s the type of person he is.
“He will dig deep and he will demand until he gets a response. He’s not someone who gives up, so I expect him just to keep going and keep going.”