Dundee United are going through a tough patch but the players and management are enjoying their work.
And so long as he sees smiles on faces, defender William Edjenguele knows the Tangerines can get the season back on track.
The big Frenchman does not pretend he has enjoyed a run of four games without a win, and last weekend’s 6-2 Scottish Cup thrashing at Ross County was a painful experience for everyone connected with the club.
But he hasn’t stopped believing in himself, his team-mates and the prospects for the rest of the campaign.
“I like the way we have been working this week. It has been hard but there has been a smile on the faces and that’s the way you want to see the situation,” he said.
“People are still enjoying coming to their work and that is exactly what we need. It is how you are going to get results.”
And if that sounds like a remarkably upbeat message at a time when United have slid a worrying six points behind Hibs in the Championship promotion race, the 29-year-old makes no apologies.
He points out he didn’t get carried away when things were going well in the run up to Christmas.
So he’s certainly not going to plunge into the depths of despair because of this difficult start to 2017.
“Like I said, when we were on the unbeaten run, you can never get too high and you can never get too low in football.
“It’s hard, obviously, when things are not going as well as you would like them to but you always get out of it.
“When? Only the pitch will tell but you have to keep working and you have to bring back some belief.
“You have to have trust within the squad because we have some good young players.
“You have to stay positive and keep training and still have that spark so that things will turn in your favour.
“And the next game is the most important one.
“After we lost at Hibs, I said then that you’ve got to keep looking forward.
“If the last result was a good one or a bad one, your focus must be on the next game and making sure it is a positive result.”
And he has no doubt, whatever has happened over the past few weeks, United remain serious contenders in the second tier.
“If we don’t believe in ourselves, who is going to believe in us?
“We can do it, it is still there for us. It’s the same players who were winning and not conceding goals not long ago.
“No one has left the club, we have not lost anything from the squad, so we still have the people we need.
“Right now we go back to the basics to return to the form we want.
“Earlier in the week, we sat down and watched a video from last Saturday’s defeat to see what went wrong and we talked about it.
“We have been working hard as well, so we can put it to bed and correct our mistakes.”
Today’s game sees United head for East End Park and a fifth clash of the season with Dunfermline.
Two cup-ties and two league clashes so far have seen them come out on top on each occasion.
Even so, Edjenguele is taking nothing for granted against a Pars side who have been rejuvenated by a run of results that’s seen them climb into mid-table.
“It is going to be a difficult game but it is one we can win. We want to go down there, hopefully put on a good performance and get a good result.
“Dunfermline have picked up pretty well. We cannot expect to just turn up there and win the game.
“We are going to have to earn the three points but we know we can.”
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