The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Time to roll up the sleeves: MacLean
Striker calls on Saints to show stomach for relegation battle
They have been used to a staple diet of top six finishes, European campaigns and cup runs but St Johnstone now have to show the stomach for a relegation battle, according to striker Steven MacLean.
The Perth side have drifted down the table since beating Rangers at Ibrox and are winless in their last six Premiership matches, losing four in a row.
Three points separate them and second bottom Hamilton Accies, with Ross County six points behind them.
“We are most certainly involved in a battle against relegation,” said MacLean.
“It is as simple as that. We need to roll the sleeves up and get back to what we used to be good at.
“Our away form this season has been decent and we need to try and pick up points. We have games in hand but there is no use having them if you can’t pick up points.
“Everything is still in our own hands but we need to turn it around sooner or else we will be right in amongst it.
“We need to stand up and be counted. It is in there but is has to come out more often.”
“I think that if we win against Aberdeen then this can give us wings without the Red Bull! It would lift the spirit,” explained Laszlo.
“You can say that you should be concentrating on only one thing but success in the cup would also give us a financial boost. We would maybe then be able to bring in some players who are free agents, for example. So that would be a positive.
“I know, 100%, that if we win a derby against a really good Aberdeen side that have been strong and confident – in the last three games they have scored 10 goals – we might even get some fans back at Dundee United.
“I think we would have a lot of happy people around, saying: ‘Oh yes, we showed them.’ The reality is that Aberdeen are the favourites. There is a gap between them and us. They play in the Premier while we are in the Championship.
“They are in the second position in their league and we are in second in ours.
“There is the gap, too, financially but this is a good possibility to fight back a little bit and make positive headlines.”
Things haven’t exactly been quiet at Tannadice, with Stephen Thompson announcing he will step down as chairman at the end of the season and some horrific results on the park.
However, Laszlo stressed his own commitment to the cause and the need for the club to unite.
He said: “I want to do everything possible for Dundee United.
“I have said today, yesterday and I will say also tomorrow that I am fully committed to United.
“I know the problems we have and I know that we have to fix a lot of things.
“Now we have to be really focused. All of us at the club, including me and the staff, have to understand that we are Dundee United and we must be all together.”