Mixu strikes out at the defence
Finn aims to sort out the United rearguard before anything else
MIXU PAATELAINEN’S introductory address about hearing relegation alarm bells ringing on his arrival at Tannadice was not exactly in the uplifting manager-unveiling category of ‘Neil Lennon — I want to bring the thunder back’.
The Dundee United manager does blunt admissions well, however, and there was more straight-talking when tackling the issue of how long it might take for the league’s basement team to adopt his favoured style of winning football.
Paatelainen attracted admirers in his previous top-flight post for the transformation in Kilmarnock from 11th to fifth in his only full season at Rugby Park on the back of a possession game that was a joy to behold.
The Finn was voted SFWA Manager of the Year for providing the best entertainment on show in 2010/11, as Alexei Eremenko pulled the strings in midfield, dragging Craig Bryson and Liam Kelly with him to a new level, while Conor Sammon had a makeover to become a 15-goal striker.
Yet this was a slow burner. Kilmarnock lost all four matches in the month of October, then rattled up three 3-0 victories in a row, including a masterclass in possession at Tynecastle. Their only defeat in the next 10 was by eventual champions Rangers.
United supporters tantalised by the prospect of Paatelainen saving their season by replicating that work will likely have their patience stretched further. The manager cautions that it could take more than three months for him to be satisfied with the charm of a team he stresses must learn to defend.
The Finn said: ‘At Kilmarnock, the boys picked it up quite quickly. It took us about three months, so it wasn’t straight away. I anticipate the same here. There are a few things I want to see, so who knows how long it might take.
‘My playing philosophy is that I want the players to pass the ball rather than just launch it forward. I think first and foremost, though, we want to be tighter defensively. That’s very important. We’ve conceded an average of two goals per game. We’ve needed to score three to win matches and that’s a tall ask.
‘If we can tighten the defence, it would obviously be easier for us to win matches. That won’t be easy, but we have to concentrate on defending to make us hard to beat. At the same time, we want to make sure when we have the ball we treat it right and create a number of opportunities.’
The United faithful were teased then, ultimately, tormented by the captivating football played by Jackie McNamara’s young side in November/December 2013. A team featuring Ryan Gauld, Gary Mackay-Steven, Stuart Armstrong, Andrew Robertson and Nadir Ciftci streaked to six successive league wins, scoring 22 goals. The future was tangerine.
Four transfer windows later and all that promise has been punted. Most damagingly, the Celtic double swoop on Mackay-Steven and Armstrong in January killed a season and McNamara’s momentum.
Old Firm target John Souttar, out of contract at the end of term, and midfielder Scott Fraser are the latest United prospects to catch the eye of scouts flocking to Tannadice. There is little by way of a guarantee that Paatelainen will not suffer mid-season losses in his first transfer window at the helm.
‘I believe Dundee United, like other Scottish clubs, are selling clubs,’ he said. ‘The clubs are in a football hierarchy where there are plenty clubs above you. We all love this club, it means a lot to us but I think you have to be realistic.
‘When the young player breaks through and does well, often the big club comes and offers the player an opportunity to progress and go forward and also offers the club something.
‘The club has to make sure that there are others coming through who can replace that so that there is no gap in quality.
‘If many important, influential players leave, then that affects performances. You have to avoid that. I’m not against selling players. It happens in football and it will never stop.’
Charlie Telfer has promised Paatelainen that his new squad does possess the will for a fight, but insists United will not be scrapping away in a relegation dogfight.
The Finn criticised United for failing to match the hunger in League Two Dunfermline’s ranks in a League Cup tie last month, a game which saw Telfer withdrawn after an hour.
United prevailed 3-1 after extratime, only their second victory in 11 matches. That form cost McNamara his job with United bottom of the table. Telfer does not anticipate being rooted there much longer. The 20-year-old is confident United will not feature in the relegation equations at the end of the season.
Telfer stated: ‘We’ve got a battle in us. We just need to be more thorough in grinding out results. As soon as we get a win or a draw, we’ll just keep building on that. Hopefully, it will snowball and we’ll starting picking up points. I don’t think we will be down there at all.
‘There have been games we’ve played well for a while but then we’ve not kept on. As a group, we need to work on that. We can play football when we need to. We need to pull together, be better as a team. As soon as we start doing that, we’ll kick on. We’ll be fine.’