GARY TEALE hesitated, so surprised was the St Mirren winger to have been afforded such space, before shunting a pass out to the equally unattended David Van Zanten.
The full-back prodded the ball beyond Barry Douglas and ambled past the defender to gather possession and waft a tame delivery across goal. Gavin Gunning need only have swiped clear but instead gawped gormlessly as the cross skittered past, turning in time to see it creep inside Radoslaw Cierzniak's far post. As the Irishman half-heartedly jabbed a finger at Douglas, the ire of the home supporters cascaded down on to the pitch.
Stephen Thompson fulminated quietly among them. The Dundee United chairman shifted furiously in his seat directly overlooking this latest calamity – three goals in 28 second-half minutes having reversed a 2-1 interval advantage – and surely realised that his own indecisiveness is causing almost as much angst as that of his club's players.
Three months have now passed since the issue of Peter Houston's contract was raised by the manager himself in an unsubtle attempt to prompt the offer of new terms. Talks took place. No offer was made and negotiations continued between Thompson and John Colquhoun, Houston's agent. The latest bulletin on the matter was issued by the manager earlier this month. "If it's a similar contract I'd be happy to stay," he said. "I've been on that salary for three years and if it's something similar I'd be more than happy to keep it."
Therein lies the rub. United cannot afford to maintain a level of recompense negotiated in the wake of the Scottish Cup triumph in May 2010 and skewed by the remarkably rich packages received first by Ian McCall – somewhere in the region of £250,000 – then Craig Levein. Houston, consequently, is the second highest-paid manager in the Clydesdale Bank Premier League with a basic wage more than double than that of many of his peers.
Understandably, he is not prepared to relinquish that status and, with Thompson both unable and unwilling to continue paying out just shy of £200,000 per annum, there is only one possible outcome: Houston will depart when his contact expires in the summer. "It's something I'd like to get settled and put to bed," he said a few weeks ago. "The sooner it happens – or doesn't happen – the better, so we all know what's happening."
As that day creeps closer, though, the ongoing ambiguity has exerted an increasingly malign grip on the entire club. Relations between the chairman and manager become strained, the coaching staff worry about their own job security and players fret over what the future might hold for them. And, all the while, performances deteriorate.
Sunday's defeat by St Mirren was not, in itself, particularly surprising or galling even, but rather it marked a substantial shift in the attitude of the supporters. Hitherto in thrall to Houston, large sections are now agitating for change after a run of 10 matches without a win at Tannadice, a spell in which they have watched a series of increasingly crass defensive displays scarred by the concession of 21 goals. The manager's failure to appear to face questions on Sunday caused further derision.
Statistics can be warped, of course, but there is scant scope for any interpretation other than that United are becoming subsumed by uncertainty. Thompson, then, must act now. Assuming the status quo is untenable – and, on the evidence of recent weeks, it is – the chairman either must meet Houston's financial demands or take the decision to relieve him of his duties now, so permitting a replacement a few months to assess matters before next season and address issues such as whether Jon Daly, Willo Flood and Barry Douglas will be allowed to leave upon the expiry of their own contracts in May.
Granted, doing so will necessitate a compensation payment that the club can ill-afford and instigate a search for a replacement at a time when obvious candidates are scarce but what price further hesitation? The ongoing woes a hundred or so yards up the road should negate any threat of relegation but dwindling and disillusioned crowds and decreased prize money bring their own financial concerns.
Houston's supporters will parrot the party line of individual errors and inflated expectations, while pointing to United's habit of rousing themselves in the second half of a campaign, but something feels different this term.
Perhaps it is the lingering reports of dressing-room disquiet at the manager's methods, questions over his commitment and interest in wider aspects of the club's activities. Or maybe it is simply that his more recent signings have failed to convince? The stockpiling of central midfielders, and subsequent misuse of them, makes his regular refrain of a lack of options in other areas sound somewhat hollow, while the recruitment of such as Rudi Skacel and Gregory Vignal smacks of short-sightedness and a desperate lack of ingenuity.
Either way, there is little doubt performances are now suffering. The pre-season predictions of a second-place finish always appeared a touch fanciful to those familiar with the flaws of the side but there remains enough quality in the squad to make finishing in the upper half of the table – Houston's stated ambition – a minimum requirement. However, despite being only two points adrift of sixth place, a daunting derby at Pittodrie tomorrow coupled with fixtures elsewhere could conceivably widen that gap to a six-point chasm going in to the winter break, leaving the manager with even more questions to answer and the chairman with a decision to make.
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