THE bile Jackie McNamara has been subjected to by a section of the Dundee United support which seems oblivious to the circumstances he has been forced to work in is no great surprise.

Achieving on-field success is no longer any sort of guarantee of long or even short-term job security for managers in Scottish football in this internet age.

Little or no understanding of the reasons for a dip in form on the park is forthcoming from many fans the second results suffer.

McNamara’s accomplishments during the two and a half years he has spent in charge at Tannadice are not as great as many of his contemporaries.

Others – like Danny Lennon at St. Mirren, Stuart McCall at Motherwell, Derek McInnes at Aberdeen and John Hughes at Inverness Caledonian Thistle - have capitalised on the diminished state of Rangers to a far greater degree.

Still, taking United to the Scottish Cup final last year and then leading them into the League Cup final earlier this year was not exactly insignificant.

However, if there is any gratitude for the work McNamara has carried out among the fanbase it is not obvious; details of his contract have been made public and he has been the victim of escalating online and verbal abuse.

True, his side’s performances have left much to be desired during the 2015/16 campaign. The 3-1 defeat at home to a second-string Celtic side on Saturday was the latest deeply disappointing showing.

The Tangerines are languishing in eighth place in the Ladbrokes Premiership after the opening five games - just two points ahead of Caledonian Thistle and Kilmarnock in bottom spot.

McNamara, though, has had to stand by and watch as Scotland internationalists Stuart Armstrong, Gary Mackay-Steven and Andy Robertson have all left in the last year.

Robertson was signed by McNamara for nothing from Queen’s Park two years ago and sold to English Premier League club Hull City for a tidy £2.85 million profit last year.

He could reasonably expect some thanks for his part in that sensational piece of business. Instead he has been the victim of sniping about the terms of his remuneration and more recently his role in the exit of youth coach Stevie Campbell.

With Ryan Gauld and Nadir Ciftci also departing during his tenure, McNamara has lost half of his first choice outfield players since being appointed.

A club with the financial limitations of United, which developed Armstrong, Gauld and Mackay-Steven over a period of years, is unable to go out and compensate for the loss of these individuals by bringing in like-for-like replacements.

They have to be shrewd in the transfer market, invest in those with raw potential and rely on the promising players they sign or promote from their youth ranks being of a sufficient standard.

Mackay-Steven, the Celtic winger, stressed what was needed as he spoke to the media in the build-up to the meeting with his former club last week.

“The criticism of Jackie has been misplaced,” he said. “He has a very young squad and he’s lost a few players. He’s constantly rebuilding.

“A few of the youngsters have shown what they can do - guys like Blair Spittal, Aidan Connelly and John Souttar - but young players are always going to have a dip.

“They are so talented, but they are still learning. I have no doubt Jackie is the right man to bring them forward.”

Patience, then, is required for the strategy used by Dundee United and so many other clubs in this country to work. Alas, in this day and age, when critics on the worldwide web wield a disproportionate amount of influence, that quality is not exactly in abundance.

As he responded to the latest bout of criticism last week, McNamara pointed out a rather startling fact. He is the longest serving manager in the Premiership - with less than three years service.

That underlined that clubs and their fans in this country now have little or no tolerance for fallow periods no matter what factors are behind them.

Of course, the man in the dugout has long been subjected to vitriol from the stands when things are not going to plan on the field of play. McNamara has presided over just four wins in 23 games so it is little wonder he is under pressure. You fear for him.

Still, our clubs could benefit greatly from showing greater loyalty to those it has charged with overseeing its sporting fortunes – particularly one who has shown an ability to do the job and has lost all of his star performers.

John Hughes at Inverness Caledonian Thistle appears to be in a similar predicament as McNamara. He took the Highland club to third place, into Europe for the first time and won the Scottish Cup, their first major honour, last term.

But after losing Ed Ofere, Nick Ross, Graeme Shinnie and Marley Watkins he was always going to have his work cut out to replicate that. It is doubtful that he, too, will be given the opportunity to turn the situation around which his track record merits.

AND ANOTHER THING . . .

Hearts supporters should enjoy the Tynecastle club’s time on top of the Ladbrokes Premiership while they can. It won't last long.

Robbie Neilson and his players have done superbly to win their opening five fixtures this season and deserve to be in their lofty position.

But Steven Pressley’s assertion this week that Hearts can win the Scottish title – a prediction which, you suspect, was made to grab a newspaper headline or two – is fanciful given Celtic’s vastly superior resources.