UNITED SURROUNDED BY NEGATIVITY, CLAIMS QUINN

FORMER Tannadice defender Paul Quinn has lifted the lid on the toxic atmosphere at Dundee United, claiming the Championship club is drowning in negativity and that the players are ‘drained’ by the Tangerines’ past glories. United are looking for a new manager after Csaba Laszlo was sacked in the aftermath of Saturday’s humiliating 5-1 loss at home to title rivals Ross County, with Robbie Neilson and Jim McIntyre the frontrunners for the vacant post. The 33-year-old, who has been without a club since leaving United in May, is saddened to see his former club languishing in the doldrums once more but insists Laszlo’s departure won’t solve the deeper-rooted problems. Quinn said: ‘There’s bigger problems there than just replacing the manager. ‘There needs to be an element of realism around the whole club. ‘It seems that within the past few seasons, the aims at Dundee United are coming without having the right foundations. ‘The current squad is huge and the place is draining at times. ‘Let me tell you from personal experience, it can be a negative thing. ‘For the players who see the pictures of past greats from the 1980s within the stadium, they’re expected to measure up to that as soon as they walk in. Nobody wants to play amid a negativity bubble.’ Quinn believes results like the crushing loss to County are a direct consequence of Laszlo’s laborious training methods. He said: ‘To be honest, I wasn’t surprised by the 5-1 defeat to Ross County. ‘Overall, the results haven’t been good. ‘They’ve got the best facilities possible at St Andrews. But I refer to Scott McDonald, who said the former manager sapped the energy out of him. ‘Csaba wanted to train Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. He said that a day off on a Sunday and on a Wednesday would be amateur.’ Quinn insists that club legend Paul Sturrock’s return to Tannadice last season as an advisor undermined Laszlo and left players unsure who was in charge. ‘I felt for Csaba then,’ admitted Quinn. ‘There’s no way you can dispute what Luggy did as a player for Dundee United but that was back in the day... ‘It looked as though there was undermining going on — that’s just a fact. ‘They (Laszlo and Sturrock) could say they had a great relationship but what it did was create question marks elsewhere. ‘The question was being asked — what is Luggy doing? Is he Head of Recruitment or is he involved in the coaching side? He was on the training ground some days coaching.’