PAATELAINEN LOOKS FOR A UNITED FRONT

MIXU PAATELAINEN believes Stephen Thompson’s criticism of recent signings will have no bearing on Dundee United’s morale.

The Tannadice chairman caused a major stir when he laid the blame for the club’s drastic situation on former boss Jackie McNamara.

Explaining why he f elt l ast summer’s recruitment was the reason the club are presently 11 points adrift at the foot of the Premiership table, Thompson stated: ‘It’s very easy in my eyes where it went wrong. It’s not to do with the money we spent, it’s not to do with player sales. It’s about who we replaced them with, it’s about our recruitment.

‘Our recruitment last summer was poor at best and that’s why we are where we are.’

While Thompson did not name

names, it’s unlikely his remarks would have gone down well with the likes of Mark Durnan and Darko Bodul — some of McNamara’s last signings at the club. But ahead of a potentially treacherous trip to face Airdrie in the Scottish Cup tomorrow, Paatelainen believes his chairman’s remarks would not undermine his players. ‘When there is criticism but no names are mentioned then players look at themselves and decide if they have done well for their new club or not,’ he said. ‘If I was a player reading the headlines, I’d look at where we are in the league and say: “The chairman has a fair point” or then I would say: “but it doesn’t apply to me because I’m brilliant!”. That’s how players take it. ‘Unless you name names then the players will decide if they have been a success or not. That’s just the way it goes. ‘There are different characters in the squad. If someone gives you stick and says you have been poor then some people will respond by saying: “I’m going to show him” and they’ll work even harder.’ Asked if he feared there would be a negative effect on the atmosphere in the dressing room, Paatelainen replied: ‘I don’t believe it will have an impact on morale. When you have problems — and we have big problems — then of course you want to look back to find answers and I think that’s what the chairman is trying to do.’ McNamara is believed to be considering legal action as a consequence of Thompson’s remarks. But Paatelainen said: ‘I don’t believe it will come to legal action. The chairman works very hard for the club and he doesn’t want to make the same mistake again. He’s identified problems and a consequence of what he said is from that. ‘We have a squad of players now that I’m happy with. I still think we need to improve certain areas. We are working on that.’