DON’T PANIC!
Laszlo stands firm... but United now risk slipping out of the play-offs and he’s been given dreaded vote of confidence
AS a miracleworking manager of the Uganda national team, Csaba Laszlo earned the nickname ‘The Magic Man’. In charge of Hearts, the high-flying Hungarian conjured up a third-placed finish for the Tynecastle side and was named SPL Manager of the Year for 2008-09.
Yet in failing to impress since being named Dundee United boss in November when they were joint top of the Championship, the 54-year-old is now in real danger of making the Tannadice club’s coveted play-off place disappear. Just 21 points have been gleaned out of a possible 42 under Laszlo to leave United a staggering 19 points behind leaders St Mirren.
With one win in their last seven in the league, defeat at home today to Dunfermline — coupled with a Morton win over whipping boys Brechin City — would see them drop down to fifth.
Or maybe sixth if Queen of the South beat Livingston at home.
And yesterday came the dreaded vote of confidence from new chairman Mike Martin, who said ‘there are no plans to change the current management structure’.
In what could be viewed as a desperate move, however, this week Laszlo invited club legend and former Tannadice boss Paul Sturrock to become a temporary member of his coaching staff until the end of the season.
A third straight year in the second tier would be a disaster for a club riven by off-the-field factions and with mounting losses of £1million this year and £1.5 in 2016. Asked if he worries for his job, Laszlo said everyone at Tannadice should be feeling the heat right now.
‘You are under pressure all the time,’ said Laszlo. ‘But, look, this is not just about me. This is also about the club and the team.
‘If you play at home and you lose, like we did against Queen of the South in midweek, you get criticism and it is legitimate.
‘But I also have to defend the players because they came back from 2-0 down against Queens to make it 2-2 before we lost an easy goal and that killed us.
‘What we have to do now is win games. Dunfermline will not be easy but if we want to get higher in the league we need all three points. If we want to go to the play-offs we have to win games.’
Midfielder Sam Stanton insists the buck must stop with the United players. ‘We are all in this together,’ said the 23-year-old. ‘But ultimately we, the players, are out there on the pitch and we are the ones who can change the results. So it’s down to us. There’s nobody to blame but ourselves.
‘We need to bounce back but we all believe we are capable of getting back to winning ways.
‘At this stage of the season it’s about mental toughness as well as putting in good performances.
‘But we also need to cut out the slack mistakes because they have been killing us lately.’
The toxic mood around the club, which saw long-serving chairman Stephen Thompson stand down to make way for Martin, does not make for a perfect footballing environment.
But Stanton understands why so many United fans feel let down during another poor season.
‘It’s part of football,’ he shrugged. ‘If we are not winning games, then the fans are entitled to be angry. We have all been supporters ourselves, so we know how it feels when your team is not winning games.
‘Does the bad atmosphere around the club impact on the team? I don’t feel that personally, no.
‘If you’re not playing well you expect it and you need to deal with it. The view in the changing room is we need to give the fans something to cheer about.
‘The only solution is to start winning games again and I feel we have the players to do that.
‘On a personal level, I have experienced being part of a team that goes five or six games without a win then it all turns around, at Dumbarton.
‘There’s not the same pressure at Dumbarton as there is here at Dundee United, right enough.
‘You’ve got to win games at Dundee United, especially when you are in Championship. But I do feel that one good result could trigger us going on a good run.
‘So, we just need to stick together and try and get results.’
For chairman Martin these are difficult times but he insists stability is the key to success.
United slumped to yet another low ebb in the wake of their loss at the hands of Queens earlier this week and he is appealing with frustrated fans not to turn their back on the club in their hour of need.
‘We brought Csaba in because we felt a change was needed and we felt that a number of changes were needed,’ he said.
‘So, he was presented with basically a challenge largely working with the resources that were already at the club, although we have provided some additional support and brought some new faces to the club.
‘It’s a very difficult league and was always going to be a difficult task. The objective is to get back to the Premiership.
‘In an ideal world, we would have done that via a leaguewinning position but if it has to be through the play-offs, then it’s still the same result.
‘It’s a hard time for everybody. Clearly that (promotion) looks like it will be through the play-off route rather than direct promotion.
‘It’s important basically that we work together at the club to achieve our objective. We’re completely focused on that.
‘I share the supporters’ frustration. We are all Dundee United fans at the end of the day.
‘Tuesday was an incredibly frustrating evening. To go two goals behind and then get it back to 2-2, to not build on that and go on to win was tough.
‘But we’re now completely focused on the next game.
‘I would ask that the supporters continue to give us the tremendous support they have provided throughout the course of this season as we try and make that final push.’