Dundee United boss Robbie Neilson has clarified some of the comments he made following the disappointing defeat at Alloa two Saturdays ago, insisting his criticism was not just directed at the players who underperformed on the pitch at the Indodrill.
The Tannadice gaffer did not pull his punches in the wake of the 2-1 loss to the Wasps, branding the result as unacceptable.
Neilson said at the time: “There are players in the dressing-room who aren’t good enough and it is my job to change it.”
He also added: “The squad we have just now are not going to get us to the top flight.”
So it was something of a surprise for United fans to see only three changes to the team for this Saturday’s game with Partick Thistle at Tannadice that ended in a 1-1 draw.
Neilson explained: “My comments after the Alloa game weren’t solely focused on the team on the pitch.
“One of the issues we have at this club is that we have a huge squad.
“When you are not involved in the first team you should be pushing to get into the first team which then puts pressure on the boys in the team to perform to a higher level.
“The issue we have is that we have people who aren’t pushing to get into the first team.
“They are quite happy to sit and not help the club out.
“So the comments were more geared towards that side of it which we are dealing with at the moment.
“That’s one of those things in football when you come in you have to deal with a lot of stuff in the background and we are hoping to do that in the coming weeks.”
Neilson added to his squad on Friday, snapping up former MK Dons attacking midfielder Aidan Nesbitt until the end of the season.
And the manager, who has been linked with a move for former Hearts striker Osman Sow, is hopeful there will be more transfer business this week.
He added: “We are actively working. Obviously it is the window and we know we need to make some changes.
“We need to add to the squad and we would like to get one done this week if possible.
“But we know what transfers are like – you think it is done and then all of a sudden the rug gets pulled from underneath you.”
