Paatelainen wants Inverness pain to spur Dundee United on
Published:
Football can be a cruel mistress and Dundee United certainly felt her pain last weekend away at Inverness.
Mixu Paatelainen’s side were heading towards only a first win in six games before Lewis Horner scored for Caley deep into injury time to send United back home with one point instead of three.
The goal denied the Terrors what would have been their third win of the campaign and their first away success since August.
Despite the heartache at missing out on two crucial points in such dramatic fashion, United’s Finnish boss is looking to turn a negative into a positive.
“When you concede an equalising goal 30 seconds before the final whistle, it is a kick in the teeth,” Paatelainen explained.
“But that makes us stronger, it makes us even more determined to work hard.”
“We are getting closer to victories and we will get there,” the former Finland striker added.
Next up for United in their bid to move off the bottom is a home tie with Motherwell on Boxing Day.
The hosts are 13/10 to bag three points at Tannadice, while Well – fresh from beating Celtic last week – are 2/1 with a draw 12/5.
Paatelainen has also said the long-running saga over Japanese goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima is nearing a conclusion, despite rumoured interest from Dutch side NEC Nijmegen.
Kawashima has been forced to wait for his Dundee United debut while a work-permit is cleared but Paatelainen has acted to settle the matter. “Eiji will come here in a wee k or so,” he added.
With the January transfer window right around the corner, it looks like the club may be seeing small changes rather than a major overhaul.
“We’re hoping to bring in one or two in January. There will be one or two leaving also, I would expect but it’s not 100 per cent,” said the 48-year-old.
Such talk hasn’t convinced the Ladbrokes traders however. It’s 6/1 that the Arabs make the most signings in the upcoming transfer window.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
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