Steven Fletcher has declared “we are not stupid” as Dundee United come to terms with the reality of being bottom of the Premiership at the World Cup hiatus.
However, the former Scotland front-man remains steadfast in his belief that the Tangerines have the quality to escape the drop-zone — and have illustrated that in their last three fixtures.
United narrowly lost out 1-0 to Aberdeen on Saturday night, with Liam Fox’s charges unable to build upon a hugely impressive 4-0 demolition of Kilmarnock in midweek.
Prior to those games, the Tannadice outfit ran Celtic close at Parkhead, drawing level at 2-2 after 87 minutes, only to succumb to a dramatic 4-2 reverse.
So, while Fletcher is acutely aware that the top-flight standings make grim reading for concerned Arabs, he has called for calm.
🔴Miovski's penalty saw Aberdeen beat Dundee United to head into the break third in the Scottish Premiership⬇️ pic.twitter.com/OwHOXLWe9y
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) November 12, 2022
“We know what we have as a bunch of lads, and a staff,” said Fletcher.
“But we are not stupid either. We are in a situation where we are bottom of the league. We are not going to sit here and say it is all rosy — but if we start to panic then it won’t go away.
“I know it sounds silly after a defeat, but the way we played in the second half was good and we need to start games like that, controlling the game.
“We have got the players to do it.”
Fletcher added: “We need the break to take the positives, especially from the three games we played last week. All the results didn’t go our way but the one on Wednesday showed that, if we start games positively, then things can change.”
‘Shooting ourselves in the foot’
Fletcher was irked by the manner of Aberdeen’s goal.
Mark Birighitti felled Duk in the box, allowing Bojan Miovski to slot home from the penalty spot.
While the much-maligned keeper may be a convenient fall-guy for some, the Dons’ counter could have been halted well before the Aussie was forced into that split-second decision.
Glenn Middleton surrendered possession, while Craig Sibbald and Ross Graham — otherwise excellent — will both rue the failure to make a tactical foul, given the looming danger.
“Even their goal was from our own mistake,” noted Fletcher. “We had the ball on the edge of their box, lose it and then it’s a penalty to them.
“One of the biggest frustrations for me and the boys in there is that we know we have the quality. We see it every day in training.
“We are just shooting ourselves in the foot.
“If we cut that out, then we can only move forward.”
Reset
The World Cup break will afford Fox and assistant Stevie Crawford the opportunity to further convey their own ideas and methods.
While it has been far from plain sailing — five defeats from their last six games — United have undeniably tightened up in midfield, are more of a threat going forward and have picked up a couple of handsome league victories.
However, the concentration of fixtures have meant relatively limited scope to make wholesale changes.
“He (Fox) has been great since he has come in,” added Fletcher. “We knew him as our first-team coach and has been great since he coming into this new role.
“He has lifted the boys and that’s all credit to him.
“The break will probably be good for us to take a step back from the games and work hard on the training pitch.”
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