PAATELAINEN ENCOURAGED BY HIS PLAYERS’ CHARACTER

MIXU PAATELAINEN declared himself content with his players’ application against Hearts — despite his debut as Dundee United manager ending in a 1-0 defeat at Tannadice yesterday. The Finn’s side belatedly discovered their fighting spirit but were unable to find the final ball that might have put an end to their wretched run. But the former United hero, whose team are four points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership, is convinced his new-look side will begin to climb the table again once they add some quality to their obvious spirit. ‘The players showed plenty of appetite to fight, to do well and battle for second balls,’ said the 48-year-old after Juanma’s 16th-minute penalty proved the difference. ‘To my surprise, the biggest thing that let us down was quality. I thought we rushed with our passes and we didn’t make the right passes when we were in the Hearts half. ‘We didn’t create anywhere near as much as we should have. We need to work on that but it’s early doors. ‘We’ve only had a couple of sessions with the boys and that’s what I said to them. It’s a start, we work on things and we make sure it improves.’ With only five points from 11 games to date, Paatelainen believes it’s only inevitable there is a tendency for his players to rush their decisions in the final third. ‘Confidence comes from results and doing the right things on the pitch,’ he added. ‘Today we did a lot of good things but in the final third, when we had the ball, I don’t think we passed it as well as we should have and, obviously, we need to work on those things. ‘But the boys are determined. They are not down.’ Despite earning a first league win since the end of August, Hearts boss Robbie Neilson declared himself unhappy with his side’s performance. ‘I was disappointed,’ he said. ‘I thought we were slack in possession and didn’t play as well as we could. ‘We scored an early goal and didn’t score another and it’s always difficult when you play against a team that’s bottom of the league with a new manager. ‘They have nothing to lose and can go gungho, play on the front foot and throw things forward. ‘Until you get that second goal it’s always going to be difficult.’