Dundee United's 4-0 hammering at Hearts' hands has left the team reeling, with captain Dylan Tait admitting they were naive and soft in the second half. The midfielder knows it was the manner of the goals that they lost which killed them.
What happened?
Dundee United's performance against Hearts was a far cry from their impressive draw with Rangers last week. Tait claimed: “It's a sore result, especially after last week (drawing with Rangers). “We played well against Rangers and came into the game with confidence. “We thought we'd get after Hearts – then obviously it's a bad start, losing two goals. “After that, I thought we came into the game a bit and made chances. We just didn't take them. “The second half is naive and soft from us. “It's something we're going to need to learn quick. It's a tough league and we're a new team. “There are loads of new boys trying to gel and things, but it’s still a sore one to take.”
Why it matters for Dundee United
The manner of the goals that Dundee United lost was particularly galling for Tait. The ex-Falkirk player said: “I just think we lose two soft goals. “We can make a foul in the middle of the park for the third goal, and then we get done with a one-two for the fourth. “I just think it's naive and soft. “As a team, we need to look at that, see how to be better and how we can manage games better. “If you look at the game as a whole, we had loads of possession, we get into good areas. “I just don't think we've done enough with the ball. It's something we'll look at and try to address. “Obviously, it's good to be good on the ball and look nice, but off the ball, you still need to win your individual battles and run harder than the opposition. “In this league especially, it's so important to do that. “Today, it just didn't quite happen.”
What comes next?
Dundee United now have a massive challenge to stop champions Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup. Tait knows the levels will need to go up significantly if United is to have any chance. He acknowledged: “Celtic coming to our place on Saturday is going to be another hard game, but one we'll really look forward to. “It's a chance to progress in a cup and that's what we want to do. “Against Rangers at home, that was a really good performance, and we wanted to build on that on Sunday. “That’s not happened, but we'll go away, analyse the game and see where we went wrong and take it into the Celtic game and hopefully, we can have a good result. “Celtic are the best team in the league and they've won everything for however many years. “So, it's going to be a hard game. “But we'll have a game plan, and we'll try to execute it.
Dundee United are currently 9th in the Premiership, with 33 points from 33 games, and are 37 points behind leaders Heart of Midlothian. They have scored 34 goals and conceded 53 this season, with Dario Naamo and Miller Thomson currently sidelined.
