Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Ray tells troops to start believing
DUNDEE United boss Ray McKinnon i s hammering into his players the need to believe i n what t hey’re trying to achieve.
Ray felt his men were anxious after losing an early goal in S a t u rd ay ’s disappointing Tannadice draw with Dumbarton.
That saw them lose their way, particularly in the first half, but when he views the quality in his squad he feels there was no need for the loss of confidence.
“They need to believe in what we’re trying to do, get the width into the game, take full-backs on and get crosses into the box.
“They didn’t do it on Saturday. Maybe losing the early goal spooked them but they are good players and they should’ve come back from it.
“But they did get anxious, I felt that and I was surprised about it. Then they stopped doing the things we asked them to.”
It’s something the gaffer will be addressing in training this week and he’ll be seeking a better performance when he takes his team t o Falkirk on Saturday.
That trip is likely to see changes to the starting line-up, with Dutch striker Patrick N’Koyi a strong candidate to step up from the bench.
“Patrick gave us something when he came on and he’s getting up to speed. He gives us a presence up front but we didn’t give him enough crosses in the box for.”
One consolation from the weekend was no fresh injuries were picked up.
Tonight sees United’s U/20s on the road again for Development League action.
Dave Bowman will take a young side to face Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.
With a few first-team players still needing game time to improve their match sharpness, the line could include some older heads.