Mixu hails his chairman for taking ‘a risk’ on transfers

DUNDEE UNITED boss Mixu Paatelainen has admitted chairman Stephen Thompson is taking ‘a big risk’ by backing him with fresh cash in their desperate relegation battle. Although the club are already looking like a lost cause in the fight to retain their Premiership status, the Finn revealed that Thompson has launched an unlikely survival bid by giving him the green light to bring in two to three players in the January transfer window. And Paatelainen, whose team are already 11 points behind Kilmarnock at the bottom of the table despite the introduction of free-agent signings Guy Demel, Florent Sinama Pongole, Eiji Kawashima and Gavin Gunning, told disillusioned United fans they should be grateful for having a chairman who is so devoted to the club. The Finn, who has been backed to remain at the helm even if United plummet to the Championship, said: ‘We have a very strong working relationship, myself and the chairman. We are in touch many times a day. ‘I know how hard he works for the club. He knows how hard I work for the club. We are in a difficult situation but our relationship is excellent. If the situation was not

like that, I am sure there would not be any more money to be spent on new players. The support is 100 per cent. I feel it, I hear it. It is there financially. It shows his commitment. ‘Of course, they are taking a big risk by doing that because of where we are in the league table. That is how determined the board and the chairman are to change things. We value that. And we appreciate that. ‘Obviously we want to improve the competition among players and possibly improve the standard and give other options by bringing in other players to help our cause. ‘We’ve brought in four players already. Now, the window is open and I’m grateful that the chairman and the board will allow us to bring in two or three players again. We’re working hard on that front.’ Thompson (below) has become a target for abuse from a section of the United support, however, and has revealed that even his 73-year-old mother, Cath, was on the receiving end following Saturday’s defeat to Dundee. Paatelainen said: ‘That’s unfair to Mrs Thompson, absolutely unfair. And the chairman has worked so hard. Any chairman makes decisions. Some people value them, some people don’t. That is always the case when you make decisions. ‘One thing is for sure: Dundee United is in our chairman’s heart. He does everything possible to help the club. He would never do anything to harm the club, that’s clear to me. That is in place, there’s no question about that. ‘So, from that point of view, everything is fine. ‘We have a chairman who is not just a businessman trying to make a fast buck and then disappearing. We have a chairman who is a Dundee United fan and loves the club. It is a healthy situation.’ Paatelainen also insisted that John Souttar will ‘stay’ at Tannadice despite the club having removed a new contract offer for the 19-year-old from the negotiating table. Souttar, who is out of contract at the end of the season, turned down an extension earlier this term and is now free to talk to other clubs. But the Finn made optimistic noises about the player remaining at United, saying: ‘I’m positive about that, because I want him to stay. ‘Unless a club comes in and offers us plenty of money... but we don’t want that, we want him to stay here.’ Paatelainen is still keen to recall Henri Anier from his loan spell at Hibs — but will have to persuade Alan Stubbs to let the striker go. ‘His loan deal with Hibs is season-long but, before the middle of January, Hibs can decide whether they keep him for the rest of the season,’ he revealed.