Dundee United manager's job is a good opportunity for someone, says Liam Fox

Caretaker Liam Fox dismissed any suggestion that Dundee United are in turmoil as he insisted that the managerial vacancy at Tannadice remains attractive despite the team’s dire start to the season.

The 38-year-old has been in interim charge for the past fortnight since Jack Ross was sacked after a wretched run of five consecutive defeats in which the Terrors conceded 24 goals and scored just one.

Fox, who has steadied the ship with a Premier Sports Cup win at Livingston and a 0-0 draw away to Motherwell, scoffed at claims the club are in a mess.

“I think it’s a good job to have,” he said, rubbishing the notion that managing United might be viewed as a poisoned chalice. “I think there’s a very decent group of players here.

“Listen, we’ve had a couple of difficult months and everybody’s entitled to their beliefs and opinions about where they think the club is.

“I can only speak from the inside that I think there is a good group of players and I think it’s a really good football club. Whoever gets the job will inherit both of those things. It’s a good opportunity for somebody.”

Fox himself is widely deemed the front-runner to become the permanent manager, although he gave little away at Thursday’s media briefing ahead of Saturday’s cinch Premiership trip to Rangers and insisted he had no update on when the club expect to confirm an appointment.

“I had a quick conversation with (sporting director) Tony Asghar on Monday and it was just a case of ‘carry on until told otherwise’,” he said.

“All I can say is I’ve enjoyed the last three weeks but it’s not up to me whether I’m given the opportunity or not. That’s up to the people above me in the football club. They’ll make a decision based on what direction they see the club going.

“It’s been a challenging period but I’ve enjoyed it and now I’ve got a very tough game to look forward to on Saturday. It’s not very exciting for you guys (the media) but that’s all I’m focusing on.”

United have lost 7-0 away to AZ Alkmaar and 9-0 at home to Celtic already this term but Fox played down any suggestion of trepidation within the squad ahead of their trip to Glasgow to face Champions League contestants Rangers.

“Whenever you go to Ibrox and Parkhead, they are always very difficult places to take points from,” he said. “But we need to go there with a belief that there’s an opportunity to go and take something.

“We’ll try and be as positive as we can but we’re fully aware of how many good players Rangers have. They (Rangers) may have lost a few games but that doesn’t make them bad players.

“You run the risk whenever you go to play against top teams that (a heavy defeat) could happen but as I’ve told the players this week, it’s about what we do. I’m not worrying about what Rangers are going to do. It’s about the way we set up and how we perform, and hopefully we can put on a performance.”