Sunday 29 November 2015 11:51, UK
Mixu Paatelainen says he needs "stronger characters" in his Dundee United squad after they suffered a fourth successive loss on Saturday.
United slipped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at home to Hamilton Academical and are now seven points adrift at the bottom of the Premiership table.
Billy McKay put the home side ahead with a smart finish on the half hour mark. However, the visitors were then handed an equaliser with twenty minutes to go when United defender Gavin Gunning headed into his own net from a Hamilton corner.
Eight minutes later Accies defender Ziggy Gordon scored the winner, his first goal of the season, to condemn United to their twelfth league defeat of the campaign.
United have now lost eight of their last nine matches and have won just one game since Paatelainen took charge in October. The 48 year-old former striker blamed the defeat on his players' lack of confidence.
"We are not winning matches - we are losing matches. Even draws are valuable, where we are in the league table," said the former Finland manager.
"But it looks as if as soon as the opponent scores one goal the bottom goes from us and we are an easy target after that.
"Simply we need to have stronger characters and make sure everybody lifts each other and do things right as we did for most of the match. When you play like that, you must win the game.
"When you score an own goal - it was unbelievable, it was a striker's header into the bottom corner - after that one or two players got a bit shaky and confidence gets a hit.
"At the same time we should have put this game to bed a long time before that.
"We had chance after chance after chance and not just shots at goal - we had one against ones with the goalkeeper.
"So our strikers must look in the mirror as well and realise they should have scored more goals."
The victory moved Hamilton up to fifth position in the league and player-manager Martin Canning was quick to praise his goalkeeper, Michael McGovern, after the match.
"There are times when your forward players win you games, times when good midfielders like Ali Crawford win you games, and there are times you need your keeper to win the game, and today Michael won us the game," said Canning.
"He had two or three important saves at crucial moments but he has done that time and again for us and you come to expect it, albeit it is a high-level performance from him.
"He has been different class since coming to the club."
