Dundee United: Is Neil Lennon the answer after Liam Fox departure?
- Published
Watch: Dundee United's defensive horror show against Ross County
Bottom. Adrift. Goal shy. Leaky in defence. Six defeats on the bounce. The adjectives and statistics are horrifying for Dundee United with 12 Scottish Premiership fixtures to go.
Liam Fox became the club's second managerial casualty of the season on Sunday, a day on from a chastening 4-0 defeat by Ross County.
That defeat left the Tangerines four points below both Kilmarnock and County.
It means the board and supporters once again find themselves asking, where to now?
Roots of familiar frailties evident in the summer
United got off to the worst possible start in Dingwall with Eamonn Brophy netting for the hosts on six minutes, a second soon followed through Yan Dhanda eight minutes later.
"When the first goal went in, a lot of the heads went down," former Tannadice midfielder Craig Easton told Good Morning Scotland. "The second one goes in and you can see the body language of some players that just wasn't good.
"On the other hand, you've got Ross County and they're all fighting, they're all running. There's a real energy and a real purpose about them.
"There was a real difference in both sides, the way they approached the game. Dundee United are really low in confidence. Ross County looked like they were really fighting for their lives.
"The defensive problems that Dundee United had at the weekend and that they've shown most of the season reared their heads again."
Experienced campaigners Liam Smith, captain Ryan Edwards and Charlie Mulgrew, as well as last year's signing Aziz Behich, made up United's back four against County, protected by a midfield three of a principally attacking trio of Dylan Levitt, Arnaud Djoum and Craig Sibbald.
It was a similar story when United were humbled in Jack Ross' last match in charge, August's 9-0 loss to Celtic. That day, youngster Archie Meekison, Levitt and Ian Harkes and later Sibbald and Jamie McGrath, were overrun and some more.
The Tannadice side did not sign any central defenders or defensive midfielders last summer during Ross' brief tenure, though loaned Huddersfield defender Loick Ayina was the club's only January capture.
Ayina has featured just twice since his arrival - both defeats - and was sent off in one of those games.
Whoever replaces Fox, transfers are not an option until June. By then, United may be a Championship club once again.
Is Lennon the answer for United?
Neil Lennon keen to return
When asked who should replace Fox on GMS, Easton was resolute in his response.
"It does look like Neil Lennon that's the one that could be the best one that's out there," he said.
"You're going to need somebody with experience, someone that can motivate a team that's really low in confidence and it might be that Neil Lennon could be that man."
Lennon does indeed have experience, having taken charge of Celtic in his first job back in 2010. Four years later he moved on, had a short stint at Bolton then came back to Scotland with Hibernian in 2016 before returning to Celtic Park in 2020. Most recently he took charge of Omonia in Cyprus for seven months last year.
Dundee United fans have protested against sporting director Tony Asghar at various points this season - and he stepped down on Tuesday
Lennon or any other prospective candidate must improve the stats at both ends of the table. The best comparison, should he take the United job, is his 18 months in the Premiership with Hibs after getting them promoted.
In 2017-18, Hibs finished fourth in the top flight with a +16 goal difference after keeping the goals against column to 46 - the fourth best in the division that season. When he left Hibs the next season they were eighth with a positive goal difference.
Former Hibs, Inverness and Ross County boss John Hughes recently expressed his desire to take over at Aberdeen, a post that is still vacant, and was previously linked with United.
Hughes steered County away from relegation in the second half of season 2020-21, so could he craft a similar escape plan again?
Paul Lambert is another often linked with Scottish vacancies, most recently at former club Motherwell, but has not managed in his homeland for 17 years.
Ian Holloway and Grant McCann showed a willingness to travel north before they missed out on the Well job to Stuart Kettlewell. And though Jim Goodwin's recent short spell at Aberdeen ended badly, the former St Mirren boss knows a thing or two about surviving relegation with the Buddies.
Tough run ahead
United now face 12 seismic matches to stay in the Premiership. They hold a game in hand against Livingston, a side they lost to in their only league meeting so far. However, they did beat them in the Viaplay Cup a few weeks later.
A tricky run opens up towards the split, starting with Aberdeen at Tannadice this Saturday. United will be clinging to the result the last time the sides met on Tayside, with Jim Goodwin's Dons being battered 4-0.
However, after Aberdeen, United have only taken five points all season against the teams they face up to the split. That's a statistic that simply has to change if they are to stand a chance.
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