Liam Fox spent the World Cup break rebuilding Dundee United’s identity.
Now the Tannadice boss is backing his refocused stars to turn their season around.
As Aziz Behich starred for Australia and Dylan Levitt waited for his chance with Wales in Qatar, Fox was leading his remaining talent through a new approach to their campaign.
The work was painstaking.
His first chance to see the fruits of his staff and players’ labour was wrecked when a frozen pitch claimed United’s clash with Livingston.
Now his focus is squarely on Hearts, visitors to Tannadice on Christmas Eve, and the chance to kick off the Tangerines’ festive double-header in positive fashion.
Fox said: “Over the World Cup break we put a lot of work into the players and the aim is to improve every aspect of our game.
“We haven’t just focused on one thing, it has been about making everything that bit better to give ourselves the best chance of winning games.
“That’s in possession, out of possession, the structure when we give the ball away – everything.
“We have worked the players really hard as well, so we’ve done the fitness aspect of it as well.
“With the period of time we’ve had, we’ve tried to make sure we’re better in every aspect.
Belief in group
“We want to see all the work we’ve done come to fruition.
“We are under no illusions about where we are but I have belief in the group.
“We have some really exciting games to look forward to and hopefully things will look different in time.
“That’s our aim but every game is a different challenge and the league is very competitive with a lot of good players and good managers.
“There will be ups and downs right to the end. We need to make sure we have more ups than downs.
“Everything is about the team rather than individuals and that will continue.
“Individuals make up the team but the team is always far more important.”
Fox cut his coaching teeth with Hearts before joining United via Livingston.
He considers his spells at Tynecastle pivotal to his subsequent career.
But these days he is 100% focused on the Tangerines – and masterminding a second half of the season surge up the Premiership.
“I spent a lot of time at Hearts so it was influential on my career,” he said.
“I worked with some really good people and learned a lot when I was there.
“It was a big part of my journey to get to this point and a lot of the backroom staff and players are still there.
“A lot of people there, from the very top to the very bottom helped me along the way.
‘Make Dundee United the best we can possibly be’
“But that was then and this is now, so it’s all about Dundee United now.
“Everything is focused on us getting points to climb the table.
“My job now is to make Dundee United the best we can possibly be.
“I went to see Hearts on Saturday, it was a good result for them and a good performance.
“They are a good side, they’re always strong with a good group of players so we know it’s going to be a tough game.
“But we are back at Tannadice in front of our own fans. We have two at home coming up so we want to make the most of it.”
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