Fixture schedule proving to be no problem: Laszlo

Plaudits for players after recent results

Dundee United boss Csaba Laszlo believes his players are coping with the physical demands of their fixture schedule.

The Tangerines will play their 12th match in 39 days when they travel to Palmerston to face Queen of the South in the penultimate fixture of the regular Championship season.

To put it another way, they have been in action every Tuesday and Saturday for six consecutive weeks.

That is a demanding programme to say the least but Laszlo is pleased that it hasn’ t seemed to have taken too much of a toll on his team.

Indeed, United look in good nick going into the clash with the Do on ham ers, having racked up three consecutive wins against St Mirren, Falkirk and, most recently, Brechin City.

Laszlo, who had no fresh injuries to report after that 5-0 victory at Glebe Park on Tuesday night, said: “I can’t be disappointed and I hope we keep this going.”

Laszlo continued: “I am not a young manager but even for me it was a new situation that, for the last six weeks, we have played Tuesday-Saturday.

“It has also not been easy to manage this situation mentally because a lot of the times we have had bad results, which have brought more pressure.

“Hopefully, we can handle this and it will help if we can win our next two games and possibly finish second.

“I think we are 99% in the play-offs but we have to win against Queen of the South. The three points would put us in a better position in the table – that is the target.”

The only doubts were over captain Willo Flood (knock) and wideman Paul McMullan (groin) but both should be available in Dumfries.

Laszlo confirmed: “At the moment, we have nobody injured (apart from longterm). I took Willo off as a precaution on Tuesday but he is OK, while Paul is also fine. Physically, I don’t think there will be any problems.

“The pitch was heavy at Brechin but we brought both Scott McDonald, Jordie Briels and Scott Fraser on to freshen things up.”

Indeed, the big headache for the United gaffer is who he leaves out, with McDonald helping to change the game in midweek and Fraser scoring a superb free-kick.

He added: “I think both of the Scotts could have been on from the beginning. They give us more options for the Queen of the South match. There are also other players fighting to get back in the starting line-up, such as Tam Scobbie who was a regular for us and sometimes our captain.

“They realise that what is important is that the team moves forward. Sometimes you are out and sometimes you are in but what matters is that you do everything for the team.”

Laszlo also confirmed that he will be holding talks with central defender Bilel Mohsni, with a view to extending his stay at Tan na dice beyond the end of the season.

I am not a young manager but even for me it was a new situation that, for the last six weeks, we have played Tuesday Saturday. CSABA LASZLO

Picture: SNS. Csaba Laszlo encourages his players during Tuesday’s win over Brechin at Glebe Park.