Dundee Utd 0
Diósgyőri 1
UEFA Cup (2nd Round 1st Leg)

Manager's Programme Notes

Tonight sees a return of European fare here at Tannadice when we welcome Hungarian visitors Diosgyoeri Miskolc to Tayside for the first leg second round tie. What little we have learned about our opponents has nevertheless all been complimentary and therefore I have no hesitation at this stage in stating that a two-goal lead from tonight's game is the least advantage we must travel with into the return to gain further advancement in this season's competition. Apparently they are a young and ambitious outfit who are unlikely to fall into the normal category of defensively-minded European visitors. Certainly those of you with Tannadice leanings deserve a boost following the disappointment of that reverse across the road at Dens Park last Saturday. If it is any consolation to you we, connected here at Tannadice, felt every bit as bad. Nevertheless excuses are insufficient at this time and in the long run the blame for our failure to capitalise on all our possession must be laid fairly and squarely on those members of 'the current side who, ifor seasons now, have failed miserably where it matters — in tihe art of putting .the ball in the net. Therefore, my move for Dom Sullivan was made plain and simply because I had reached the end of my tether concerning the culprits whose attempts at finishing over recent seasons has been pathetic to say the least.

These players must themselves be totally fed up of me also as the same subject has been repeated time and again with monotonous regularity. However, as has occurred so often in the past, we have too many of ithe type who forget about the sole purpose of the game — winning. Things have lingered on long enough and last Saturday's let-down was the perfect example of how we can often look so good — and yet achieve so little. Sadly, the Dens Park affair was almost an exact replica of my other disappointment of last week, when connected with the Scotland side against Austria at Hampden. Chance-making at all levels of the game is hard enough to achieve without adding charity to opponents by wasting the opportunities at the final hurdle, and therefore at our Premier grade of football a target of one goal from two chances contrived must be the aim.