Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Gallagher says players should thrive thanks to high expectation levels
DUNDEE United must rise to the expectation levels set by their fans, according to Declan Gallagher.
The towering defender bemoaned the Terrors’ inconsistency that has seen them lose three of their last six matches at Tannadice.
Tuesday’s defeat to Airdrie came just days after a relatively comfortable victory over Queen’s Park.
Title rivals Raith Rovers also dropped points at home in their 0-0 draw with Morton, but that still means Ian Murray’s side have pulled level on points with United.
The Tangerines remain top of the Championship, albeit due to their superior goal difference, and Gallagher said he and his team-mates should “thrive” under such pressure.
“The expectation levels should be high because Dundee United is a team that should be in the Premiership, simple as that,” said Gallagher.
“There’s no shying away from it. If boys can’t play under that expectation, then what chance have they got in the top league?
“You should thrive under that pressure and you should love that pressure and you should want to go out there and win every game in front of your own fans.
“Saturday was a great result for us but inconsistency has been a big thing for us this season.
“At the end of the day, it’s only our fourth defeat this season, but it’s not great because we know the expectations of this club and the expectations of the fans, wanting us to win every game.
“We’ll sit down, assess the game and see how things go from there – and we’ll try to get back to winning ways on Saturday.”
Tuesday night was the 33-year-old centre-back’s second match in four days following his return from a groin operation.
It was the first time Gallagher has gone under the knife in his career and the recovery took longer than he expected.
“The way I move, you’d think that was my fifth or sixth operation!” joked the United defender.
“First operation in my career, hopefully it’s my last one of my career as well.
“It should be anyway because I’m feeling great. I’m just trying to get that match fitness back every game I play.
“The groin came away from the bone in the game versus Arbroath. I had a wee bit of inflammation in my ligament, so that was getting dealt with.
“Then my tendon also came off the bone. Only partially, right enough, but those kinds of injuries are tricky. If you don’t do it right, you can end up redoing it.
“The operation basically eliminated all of that, which was perfect for me. It took an extra couple of weeks but it’s sorted now and hopefully I can kick on.
“The physios here have been top class with me. They’re very progressive, they had me back on the park about a week or two after my operation.
“They pushed me as hard as I wanted to push myself and I need to thank them for everything – for even getting me back on the park – because at one stage I thought it was the wrong thing to do, getting the operation.
“But I’ve come back and I’m starting to feel the benefits of it now.
“It’s the business end of the season, I’m trying to get up to speed as quickly as possible.”