The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Supporters have their say on who should be next Tangerines boss
After another manager departs Tannadice, fans give their own verdict on the way forward for the club
It comes round quicker every year but once again United fans – and a fair few Dees – have had their say on who the next Tannadice boss should be.
The general consensus among the city’s fans is the Terrors should keep it local and bring in a level head who knows how the Championship works.
Among those was Joe“Jack” But chart, thought to be United’s oldest living former player.
He admitted he had not heard of many of the managers in contention, but during a well-earned Monday afternoon with friends in the Speedwell Bar, said more had to be done to keep fans coming through the gates and lamented the slump both of the city’s clubs appeared to be going through.
He said: “Being manager of a club like Dundee United is a big, big job.
“Whoever replaces Laszlo will have to employ an entirely different approach to the team from what he brought, and the others before him... toughen them up quite a bit.
“So-called ‘wee teams’ like Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Ross County and Livingston have all played much better than United in recent times and they traditionally have far fewer fans through the gate.”
Fellow Speedwell patron and lifelong Dundee fan Doug Roberston, 74, noted the shoe could have easily been on the other foot this week, but was glad to see Neil McCann’s long-suffering Dundee pick up their first points on Saturday.
He said: “I think United need to bring in someone like John Hughes, someone who can get the team together. I think someone like Yogi would be a good pick for them at this time.”
In the Hawkhill Tavern, United man Gary Wilson was lamenting how long it took Laszlo to get the chop.
“We need someone like Robbie Neilson, who won the Championship with Hearts in 2014. Either him or Jim McIntyre would be a good pick,” he said.
“Another person who could do the job is Jim Duffy, I know he is a Dundee man and there would be a few laughs about it but he knows the Championship inside out and is a big Scottish manager.”
At the Bank Bar, Marc Munro, 31, worried the constant chopping and changing of managers was ultimately not best for the club.
He said: “I think it will need to be a Scottish manager, someone who knows the league. Someone like Robbie Neilson or Jim McIntyre.”
McDaniel’s manager Peter Harvey agreed too many managers were being let go too early.
“Just look at Sir Alex Ferguson, he was famously one game away from being sacked at Manchester United and look what ended up happening there,” he said. “In my opinion, United should be looking for a young Scottish coach, in the mould of Ferguson or Jim McLean, who knows the Scottish game and is tough enough to get through the Championship.
“Look at Dundee and Neil McCann, he was given the backing, they were playing some good football and he has a history with the club, and the team finally got their first points on Saturday.”
Former Dundee United defender Paul Quinn believes there has to be major changes at the club if they are to progress.
A policy was introduced in the summer to ensure new signings live within a 25-mile radius of the city but Quinn felt that was papering over the cracks.
He said: “Dundee United fans have proved themselves to be good, loyal supporters over the years.
“They want the best for their club but when you are in Dundee getting moaned at from fans, I guess in restaurants etc, that’s not helpful to the players.
“What they should try and change is Tannadice.
“When you go in the door it needs freshened up and modernised.
“I love all their history. There are players there up on the wall who I couldn’t even begin to lace their boots.
“Even within the tunnel area, though, could there not be something changed to reflect the modern era?
“Something needs to change in the mental side of things to move Dundee United forward.
“That will be the challenge for any new manager – to make it all positive.”
Quinn was surprised to see club legend Paul Sturrock return to Tannadice in March as an adviser to Csaba Laszlo.
He said: “Our manager is our leader – that’s the golden rule in football.
“You give the gaffer everything but then somebody else comes in all of a sudden and immediately you think: ‘What’s going on here?’
“Players talk as football is a small world. They think: ‘The manager likes me but do I now need to keep this new guy happy as well?’
“How does it work? Who do you need to impress?
“I felt for Csaba then. There’s no way you can dispute what Luggy did as a player for United but that was back in the day.
“It looked from the outside 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.”