Liam Fox has praised keeper Carljohan Eriksson for showing the mental toughness to bounce back strongly after a disappointing start to the season.
‘Saku” was in inspirational man-of-the-match form for Dundee United between the sticks against Hibs on Tuesday night, producing a string of saves to deny the capital club.
The Finnish goalie’s reward was three points and his second clean sheet in a row after the 4-0 win over Aberdeen on Saturday.
It is a big turnaround in fortunes for the 27-year-old who let in 12 goals against St Mirren and Celtic in his first two games this season.
And Tannadice head coach Fox is delighted for Eriksson.
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The 38-year-old said: “For a number of weeks, Saku has been improving and making contributions in every game.
“Obviously against Hibs he made a number of saves.
“Saku has shown a lot of mental toughness to come back from the first couple of games but you have to have that resilience to play at this level.
“That’s something you build up over time as a player, making mistakes earlier in your career and learning how to deal with it.
“Saku had a few poor results – but it’s about how you react to that.”
However, after setting such a high standard against Hibs, Fox is now looking for Eriksson to maintain that form.
Fox added: “I am pleased for Saku, how he’s performing and now he’s having big moments in games.
“It’s been tough for him, he’s had to wait and work hard.
“It hasn’t been easy for him but in life, things that are worth having aren’t easy to get.
“So he’s got to keep that standard up.
“And I have to say as well, we are very big on the team aspect and Saku has Mark Birighitti and Jack Newman both supporting him.
“They are pushing him so while being a keeper is more of an individual thing than other positions, he does have people around him helping him along, working with him and keeping him on his toes.
“That’s important because you need that, he knows he has to perform on a daily basis and that shows on a Saturday.”
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