A big reason for any success Dundee United enjoy under Csaba Laszlo looks set, in no small, part to lie with the performances of a triangle of players in the middle of the park.
If the Tangerines are to stay at the top of the Championship, however, every player must be prepared to step up to the plate.
During the new manager’s two league games in charge so far, the best of United’s play has stemmed from the control provided by deep-lying central midfielders Willo Flood and Fraser Fyvie.
Add to that the attacking flair of Scott Fraser in front of them and they’ve looked a team capable of sweeping all before them in the second tier.
That Laszlo is a good manager is not in doubt but he would probably be the first to admit that in Flood and Fyvie he is lucky to have two players who are easily capable of operating at a much higher level than the division they find themselves in.
And he’s quickly set about using their talent to good effect.
So far, he’s deployed them as sitting players in front of his back four and, over the 90 minutes of an excellent win over Falkirk in his first league game and then during a dominant first 45 at Brechin on Saturday, the pair provided the foundations for all that was good about the team’s play.
Both are comfortable on the ball and can make passes, meaning the brand of possession football Laszlo wants starts there. That’s often seen one of them dropping between the central defenders to take the ball.
Once they’ve got it forward, those ahead of them know if nothing is on in the final third they can turn and roll it back to either, even if they are in tight positions, and start all over again.
Often the man ahead who’s being fed by them is Fraser.
In his United career so far he’s been used in a variety of attacking positions but from now on it will be a surprise if he isn’t used “in the hole” just behind the main striker.
From there the 22-year-old, with his quick feet and passing range, has the ability to hurt teams, both by setting up chances for others and taking them.
Indeed, if Fraser can add consistency to his game, the only problem United are likely to have is hanging on to him.
That’s an issue for the longer term. Right now, and as was shown by an excellent second half from Brechin on Saturday, if the issue is as lethal as this tangerine triangle can be, it will not as be as effective as the manager wants.
The reason for that is simple — there are no mugs in this league. As Glebe Park boss Darren Dods did at the weekend, opposition managers will take steps to try to nullify the threat of those three.
Helped by having the tightest pitch in the Championship, Dods got his players in the faces of Flood and Fyvie in particular. By reducing the space in which they had to operate, the effectiveness of their work was reduced.
At times, though, it also left others with a little more room to get on the ball and their failing during Saturday’s second half was not making the most of that.
The wide men did not use their possession as well as they might have, though it should be said in the case of full-backs Stewart Murdoch and Jamie Robson it’s still early days as they adjust to their new ultra-attacking roles.
To return to pitch dimensions, United were not helped by the fact Glebe Park is, by some distance, the narrowest surface in the division.
The wider expanses of Tannadice and elsewhere should help them and others.
What’s important is that when United’s centre of excellence isn’t quite firing, they and others play their part.
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