Dundee United boss Csaba Laszlo admits the poor results in the Betfred Cup have already piled the pressure on himself and his players.
The Tangerines have lost out on penalties at home to part-time opposition in Arbroath and then Alloa last Saturday.
They also suffered a narrow defeat against Ross County in Dingwall and conclude the group campaign with a tie against League 2 Elgin City this weekend.
The early exit from the Betfred has financial implications and while Laszlo has consistently admitted he has regarded these games as pre-season ones, he is still unhappy with the results as he looks to fully integrate his 11 new signings so far.
He said: “We are not a bad team but we have put pressure on ourselves.
“There is pressure for the club, the management and the players from the fans.
“We have lost a lot of money and for this reason I am really unhappy.
“I can’t turn this back but on the other side we have to do better.”
The manager added: “I always have pressure because I think, ‘Why do we lose?’.
“You have to do better and this is pressure for me. I think all the time about it.
“We have to find solutions tactically. Everybody is telling me that Csaba Laszlo plays too much continental football, not as direct as Scottish football.
“But we try to mix things and we have brought 11 players in.
“They have to get to know each other and play together.”
