ian roache

United’s fans could have taken umbrage at the suggestion from manager Csaba Laszlo that the players should ignore suggestions delivered from the sidelines.

Thankfully, they didn’t do so and instead interpreted the words just as they should have been interpreted.

Laszlo did not mean to devalue the contribution of the supporters. Indeed, he has been keen in every interview since his arrival to stress how he sees it as his mission to get the team and fans as united as possible in this most challenging of seasons for the Tannadice club.

Rather, his point was that professional players should pay heed to him and only him as their coach when it comes to carrying out a game plan rather than react to pressure from the stands to get the ball up the park as quickly as possible.

Against Dunfermline, players and fans worked in tandem to stay cool, calm and collected as the Pars pressed for an equaliser in the closing stages.

The end result was a crucial win that sent United back to the top of the table.

As for the Pars, I thought manager Allan Johnston was stretching things to suggest they were the better team for the majority of the match and that they managed to stop United passing the ball about.

His team did have spells when they were on top and missed good chances but so did the home side.

With splendid simplicity, Laszlo reminded us “we scored two goals and they scored just one” and that’s what counts.