The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Laszlo talks in bid to solve Glebe mystery
united: Boss holds inquest as he seeks answers after draw away to Brechin
Dundee United manager Csaba Laszlo has talked to his players both collectively and individually in a bid to solve the Glebe Park mystery.
The Tangerines dominated the first half against Brechin on Saturday then got the jitters when City equalised two minutes after the break.
They then seemed to lose their composure, forgot all the good things about their football and ended up almost losing the match, never mind holding on for a 1-1 draw.
Most of the feelgood factor from the Falkirk game evaporated into the Angus air and Laszlo wants to know why.
He said: “We had a talk today, both as a group and to each player individually, about what was wrong and what we can do better. You can’t win every game but you have to try to win every game.
“You have to have respect for the opposition, too, and I talked before the match about how Brechin are a team that doesn’t often lose by three or four goals.
“I told the players at half-time that we had to keep going and play the same way in the second half.
“Unfortunately, they (City) got a quick goal after the break and maybe in some of my players’ heads they were thinking that we had to play very quickly and get the ball to the front.
“We didn’t have the patience to build up our play. In the first half, we had played really good football. After we came back out for the second half, though, we stopped.
“Why did we do that? It is a big question for me. We have to work that out. So we had a chat and I also showed them the video of the match.
“I hope now, for our next game, that we go back to playing the right way. It has been a case of, so far, that we have played the way I want for 90 minutes against Falkirk but only 45 against Brechin.”
Saturday’s draw is obviously still fresh in Laszlo’s mind. He felt his men played right into Brechin’s hands by becoming anxious and forgetting to pass their way up the pitch.
The Hungarian added: “The Brechin game was disappointing for me because we lost two points.
“I am not looking for an excuse but when we lost the goal we seemed to lose discipline. Everybody has to pick up their man at corners but we didn’t do that.
“It can happen but after that you have to come back in the game. But we did exactly what Brechin wanted.
“We played the ball long to the front and made too many crosses on a very tight pitch. The long balls meant we weren’t playing the way we usually can play. I ended up with 20 minutes to play wondering which way, as a coach, I wanted to go.
“The choice was to go open or go safe and I decided, if I am honest, that we had one point and I wanted to keep the one point.”
Laszlo reported no fresh injuries from the City game but they will be without the suspended Tam Scobbie, who was sent off late on.
We didn’t have the patience to build up our play. Why did we do that? It is a big question for me. CSABA LASZLO