The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Fans ‘expect us to win games’ in Championship
Tangerines captain insists belief is returning as side begin to build momentum
Dundee United captain Willo Flood has warned team-mates that expectation levels will rise now the Tangerines have moved into second place in the Ladbrokes Championship.
Ray McKinnon’s side are three points behind Hibernian in the race to return to the Premiership after a hard-fought 2-1 win over part-time Dumbarton at Tannadice on Saturday.
Flood said: “There should be expectation at this club. Since the first time I was at United, you were expected to win.
“Now we’re down in the Championship, the fans should be expecting us to do that. It is up to us to make sure we do the business on a Saturday.”
Dundee United skipper Willo Flood believes patience will be key for the club’s players and fans if his side are to make a quick-fire return to the Premiership this season.
Saturday’s game at Tannadice against a dogged Dumbarton side was a case in point with Stevie Aitken’s men sent out determined to frustrate the life out of the Tangerines.
That gameplan seemed to work a treat until their resistance finally broke in the 53rd minute when Mark Docherty conceded an own goal.
United then made it two but the Sons, who beat United back in August, pulled one back to make it a jittery ending to the game.
However, Ray McKinnon’s side clinched all three points to move up to second in the Championship table.
After “grinding” out that win, Flood insisted the team are building some momentum now and belief is finally returning to the club.
He said: “We do need a bit of patience because teams are going to sit in, especially at Tannadice. We have seen that over the last couple of months that teams are happy to come here and try to get a draw.
“We obviously want to go and win games so we will have to be patient at times and move the ball a bit quicker than we did against Dumbarton. We are building up a little bit of momentum but it is still early doors for us.
“We have a tough game next week against Falkirk. That’s another team that has beaten us but to be fair, I thought we played really well down there in the first half but they nicked it in the end so we will be ready and raring to go as we owe them one.”
Flood added: “When we went 2-0 up, I felt we could go on and enjoy it but fair play to Dumbarton, they came back at us.
“They are a bit of a bogey team for us this season. We probably had our worst performance down there. We actually started the game well in the first 15 minutes or so and I think if we had scored, it would have been a different game.
“I thought we just ground it out in the end. That’s what we have to do sometimes.
“We showed a different side to it today and there is a bit of belief back around the club now. There is a lot of encouragement now from the stands rather than people getting dogs’ abuse.
“I also think the lads are growing as players. You look at Scott Fraser and Charlie Telfer over the last few weeks... they have taken their game up a few notches.”
The home side started brightly and carved out a superb opportunity in the seventh minute.
Flood played a great pass into the path of Nick van der Velden bursting down the right and he squared to Fraser who looked certain to score but instead his shot cannoned off Dumbarton keeper Alan Martin’s post.
United had a big scare in the 18th minute when keeper Cammy Bell had to pull off a stunning point-blank save to keep out a Garry Fleming shot.
The former Rangers stopper came to the rescue once more shortly after, clawing away a goal-bound Robert Thomson header.
However, the deadlock was finally broken in the 53rd minute in bizarre circumstances. Fraser swung a corner in from the United right with Docherty sending a header sailing past his own keeper from six yards.
The Tangerines then doubled their advantage in the 66th minute when Martin made another superb stop but big home defender William Edjenguele was on hand to stab home the rebound.
However, just seven minutes later, the Sons grabbed a lifeline when Thomson was first to react to a deflected shot from the edge of the penalty area to beat Bell to the ball and convert from close range. However, it was too little too late for the Sons.
With United on the up, expectation levels will inevitably rise but Flood insists that’s something the players just have to deal with.
He said: “There should be expectation at this club. Since the first time I was at United, you were expected to win. Now we’re down in the Championship, the fans should be expecting us to do that. It is up to us to make sure we do the business on a Saturday.”
Meanwhile, McKinnon paid tribute to his players and the fans for keeping their composure on Saturday.
He said: “We knew we had to be patient but there is real pressure on us to win every game. To be fair, the fans were patient as well. They were great.
“I am really pleased as that game could have been a banana skin.
“It was a good three points and we just need to keep it going.”