Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Pars boss hopes to punish United
DUNFERMLINE boss Allan Johnston is calling for his players to “punish” Dundee United’s inconsistency at Tannadice tomorrow.
The Tangerines were the pre-season favourites for the title but were moved to sack manager Ray McKinnon and replace him with Csaba Laszlo.
United suffered another setback when they could only manage a draw away to bottom side Brechin City last weekend and were knocked off the summit when St Mirren defeated Livingston on Tuesday night.
Laszlo has urged his players to listen to him, rather than anxious supporters, as they bid to get the victories they need, and Johnston is hopeful the home side’s frustrations persist.
He said: “It doesn’t get any harder than Dundee United away and the next two or three fixtures are all difficult games.
“Sometimes when you go to places like Tannadice, the pressure is on them, because they’re expected to go and attack and go and win the game.
“Hopefully, we can play on that and punish them. Obviously, they’ve got a new manager in place and, apart from last weekend’s blip, they’ve done quite well recently.
“So, we know we’re going to be in for a tough test, because they have quality players throughout their whole team.
“But Dundee United are under pressure. You know what it’s like, the fans will start getting on their back, especially after the opening 15, 20 minutes if they don’t manage to get a goal.”