Liam Fox reckons VAR wrecked Dundee United’s hopes of a moral boosting result against Hearts.
The Tannadice boss was fuming as Ryan Edwards was sent packing after ref Nick Walsh had another look at the defender’s full blooded challenge on Andy Halliday. United were 1-0 up at the time and they couldn’t hold out amid a second half Jambos onslaught as they slumped back to the bottom of the Premiership.
Fox said: “My initial reaction was that it’s a really, really good tackle so that’s disappointing. But I am really proud of my players. Their performance was really, really good. That might sound silly after losing the game 3-1 but they gave me absolutely everything. As a manager, that’s all I can ask for. I have seen it (red card) again and my opinion hasn’t changed. The referee said it was excessive force. I just thought it was a good tackle.
“Maybe I’m getting old — but that’s a normal tackle in my day. It’s disappointing because until that point we were really good.
“If you slow anything down, it can look worse than it is. It’s a contact game! In a contact game there will always be incidents that, if you slow them down, you’d probably be looking at three or four red cards every game.
“I’m just disappointed because it had a real impact on the game. These decisions always change games so I’m frustrated. But I repeat: I’m proud of my players and we need to stick together and keep believing.
“That feels difficult because we’ve lost a couple through injury, had a couple of bad decisions, but we got a real reaction for the club and the supporters after the disappointment of Wednesday. We’ll keep working and believing and we WILL get to where we need to get to.”
Fox’s problems are piling up after Jamie McGrath pulled up in the warm up with a hamstring strain – and Peter Pawlett’s injury jinx struck again as he limped off with a similar issue. The United boss said: "I am absolutely devastated for Pete. He has worked so hard to get back and he now faces a spell out again.
"It was his hamstring and there isn't much power or strength in it, which is always a concern. He was the best player on the park for the first period and it's a sore one for him.
"We also lost McGrath to a hamstring in the warm-up, but we won't feel sorry for ourselves. We will stick together. We will be low on bodies for a period but I believe in the group.
"We have had a tough week – with three defeats. But I think we have seen an upturn in performances.
"I am now even more determined that we will get to where we need to.”
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