Csaba checks on Scobbie as fatigue takes its toll at Utd

CSABA Laszlo will check on the fitness of Tam Scobbie before finalising the Dundee United lineup for tomorrow’s trip to Morton.

Scobbie had to be replaced at half-time during last Saturday’s draw with Dunfermline because of a calf strain and then missed the midweek defeat at Inverness Caley Thistle.

“I would rate him as 50-50. He has a calf injury and it is an old injury so we will have to see how he is,” said Csaba

The manager believes fatigue caused by the current three-games-a-week schedule may have been a factor in Scobbie’s problem.

And he also believes mental tiredness has been an issue for his players as they’ve struggled to get their promotion challenge up and running again. Poor results since the turn of the year has taken its toll on morale in the camp but Csaba is urging his troops to look ahead to the prize that’s still there for them at the end of the season.

“People here are losing too much time by looking back and not forward and I know that, at the moment, people are low,” he added.

“We don’t have many friends just now but I hope we can change this and that, at the end of the season we have a lot!

“I have told the players we have to get to the play-offs and after that it is a new life — a new competition.

“We are capable of winning the games we have left and that must be all that we are thinking about.”

To that end, he admits he’s become team psychologist as well as manager.

“It is about handling the situation and I have to help them.

“We have a lot of games to go and that is good because we don’t have to think too much, just go out and play on the pitch. “I am doing it on an individual basis. “I don’t want to go into the details but I have been going to players individually for chats as well as talking in a group.

“We sit together and chat. I feel this is the best way to approach it.

“I try to do something for me, them and the club.”

Csaba confirmed he is still considering bringing in another player, possibly two, before the final signing deadline of the season passes tomorrow night.

It’s highly unlikely, though, any business will be done in time for tomorrow’s game.