NEW Dundee United head coach Mixu Paatelainen has informed his players that it is they who are to blame for their current Premiership predicament, not former manager Jackie McNamara. The Tannadice side sit rock bottom of the top flight, having won one game all season long, and the new occupant of the manager's office believes his new team need to toughen up if they are to play their way out of trouble. The feisty 48-year-old former Kilmarnock and Finland manager had a watching brief at the club's recent League Cup victory against League One outfit Dunfermline Athletic and feels alarm bells unless they can roll their sleeves up.

"I am critical of the players, not Jackie," said Paatelainen. "I do realise that possibly there quite a few players in the squad who are great footballers and don't maybe relish the hard work and the battle out there. With any successful side, though, you realise they win the battles and have the desire to win one against ones, 50-50s and loose balls. That has to be there first – after that comes the finesse.

"They can't kid themselves on," he added. "The alarm bells are there, ringing loud. What more do you want to see than they are bottom of the league. If somebody is deluded then they have to get a reality check and their attitude must change straight away."

Stephen Thompson, the Dundee United chairman, defended an appointment process which saw the Finn land the job despite the club also asking for permission to speak to St Johnstone manager Tommy Wright and Inverness manager John Hughes. He refuted suggestions that meant the former United player was third or fourth choice.

"The thing that gets me is, just because you approach a club to speak to a manager, doesn’t mean you are going to appoint him," said Thompson. "How on earth do you know they are the right person if you don't speak to him? Ideally you want to speak to as many candidates as you can. Some of them will be in jobs and clubs are entitled to turn them down."

Thompson confirmed that, unlike the previous manager, there was nothing in the Finn's contract, which runs to 2018, guaranteeing him a percentage of any incoming transfer fees. "There is no sell-on percentage for the head coach, no," said Thomspon. "It wasn’t even a discussion. And if it had been it wouldn’t have happened."