Uniteds Problems Stem From The Front

There have been both positives and negatives to Dundee United`s recent performances, with the most recent being the close 1-0 defeat against Caley Thistle last weekend.

The big plus is that Dundee United are starting to gel at the back, with clubs no finding it much harder to score against Craig Levein`s backline.

However, the big negative is that Jon Daly, Noel Hunt and Collin Samuel seem to be struggling to find the back of the net.

After 5-1 and 5-0 defeats to Falkirk and Rangers at the start of the year, Craig Levein took some drastic steps to sort out his side`s defensive problems – including releasing defender Alan Archibald and telling both David Proctor and David McCracken to find new clubs.

With the defence now looking a lot more solid – with Lee Wilkie starting to shine – Levein`s attentions are now likely to be on finding a solution to United`s goalscoring drought.

Noel Hunt has struggled to find the same form that made his the clubs top goalscorer before a 4 week absence through injury, whilst January signing Jon Daly has yet to score a goal in 7 appeances for his new club.

Collin Samuel looks to be the clubs biggest threat upfront, but he is only getting 20minutes of football in most matches after coming on as a 2nd half substitute.

Meanwhile, Craig Levein doesn`t want to over use young striker David Goodwillie and he hasn`t even been getting a game since his stand-out performance against Rangers last November.

“I don’t want to be too critical of the lads up front. We’ve worked hard on defence so maybe that has taken away from the attacking side,” admitted defender Sean Dillon.

“Maybe we just need that little bit of luck in front of goal and once big John (Daly) gets his first, things will take off for him.

“He works so hard for the team even without contributing with goals. He does so much work leading the line to create chances for others and he has great physical presence.”

“I know he’s desperate to score, like Noel Hunt, and I’m convinced that will come sooner rather than later. It’s something they work on every day in training so it’s only a matter of time.”

“I’m enjoying the football here. It’s a step up from what I was used to and it’s hard work but the manager and the staff are brilliant.

“I’ve played all the games since coming which is the main thing and I’ve just got to keep the manager happy.”