The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Laszlo driven ‘crazy’ by Dodds’ cup exit theory
Tannadice boss at odds with former striker’s suggestion
Dundee United boss Csaba Laszlo has shot down the suggestion that his team would be better off losing than winning at Pittodrie.
Former Tannadice striker Billy Dodds claimed earlier this week that defeat to Aberdeen in the William Hill Scottish Cup fourth round tie on Sunday would actually help the Tangerines in the long run.
His argument was that a cup exit would enable the United players to put all they had into trying to get promotion back to the Scottish Premiership, a place Dodds thinks they belong.
The former Scotland, Rangers, Dundee and Dons frontman didn’t expect Laszlo to agree with him and he wasn’t left disappointed.
The United gaffer said: “People are telling me that it is better to lose? I don’t like to lose! I think a little bit differently.
“People are maybe telling me that I am crazy. I am crazy. If I am not crazy then I don’t come to Dundee United – I take a different job!” he said, very much tongue in cheek.
“If you want to be different then you must be crazy. So I think in a different way.
“I think that if we win against Aberdeen then this can give us wings without the Red Bulls! It would lift the spirit.
“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.
“This is a good possibility to fight back a little bit and make positive headlines.”