Dundee United manager Jackie McNamara is determined to take the fear factor out of his team’s play.
As they prepare to round off the first round of fixtures away to Inverness on Saturday, the Tangerines are sitting in second spot in the Premiership, just a point behind unlikely leaders Hamilton Accies.
Looking only at results that have secured them 22 points as well as a place in the League Cup quarter-finals, where they will play Hibs next week, you would think McNamara would be content with how things have gone.
Not a bit of it, however, with the Tannadice gaffer admitting Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Partick Thistle seemed like a defeat because of the unsatisfactory manner in which it was achieved.
For several weeks the consensus has been that United are winning without playing well and, in a bid to add entertainment value, McNamara has told his players they should not be scared of expressing themselves as they challenge at the top end of the table.
He said: “The word I would use to assess the first quarter for us would be ‘efficient.’ I want more than that because I know there is more there.
“We were really nervy on Saturday and that comes about by not doing things properly and not being at your best. I think fear is coming into it for us and playing a big part just now.
“That and the expectation level of being at the top end of the table. We are not handling things properly when we are being given the ball and it’s down to me to try to improve that.
“I think most of our game (in Scotland) is built on fear. There is the fear of failure if you don’t make the top six or top four or whatever.
“I think fear can sometimes creep into play but you should not worry about having possession or making mistakes.
“Instead, you should have belief and assurance, Players shouldn’t be fearful.
“I don’t want to be too critical but maybe on the back of our previous performance at Kilmarnock (a dismal 2-0 defeat) they wanted to make sure there wasn’t a repeat of that.”
You often hear managers say that a draw has seemed like a defeat if their players have, for example, conceded a last-gasp equaliser.
It is rare for a win to seem like a loss but that was the case for McNamara following the 1-0 victory against Partick.
“On Saturday I came into the office and it felt like we had been beaten,” he said.
“That was just because of the expectations I have for the team. It is a results business of course but, for me, it’s also a case of trying to get things to be better.
“Victories are the most important thing but I do want the entertainment value to be greater. It is down to me to try to change it so that we can get both wins and good performances.
“That’s just the way I am. I was asked a lot of times last season after games in which we had played really well if that was the best we could be and I said no it wasn’t.
“It is impossible to have the perfect performance but you can always improve.”
There were boos heard as United walked off at half-time during the Jags game but the manager isn’t blaming the supporters for not being happy because he knows how much they enjoyed the silky stuff that McNamara would love to see return.
Asked if he could understand their frustration, he said: “Yeah, of course, because it is maybe about what they have been used to over the last year.
“It is about getting back to that while keeping the solidity that we have this season.
“We are winning but not playing the same kind of football.”
Meanwhile, Conor Townsend played 90 minutes of United’s development team’s 6-3 win over Hearts on Monday night and is strong candidate to make his comeback from injury in Inverness.
“A lot of the lads came through that development game,” added McNamara.
“Conor did well, as did John Souttar along with the likes of Charlie Telfer, Blair Spittal and Ola Ademeyo. It was a pleasing performance and there was a lot of desire from the younger ones that was great to see.
“The squad is getting stronger.”
Mario Bilate is still trying to shake off his hamstring problem, with the manager adding: “We will just have to see how he is later in the week.”