For Liam Fox, Saturday’s trip to Tynecastle must have felt like a particularly cruel exercise in testing the Dundee United coaching staff to breaking point and beyond.
Call it a character building experience. A day when blow after thudding blow eventually saw the visitors crumple to the turf, their pride intact despite a defeat that left them stuck to the foot of the Scottish Premiership table.
That the 10 men of United eventually succumbed to the inevitable was no reflection on either their ability or Fox’s tactical masterplan.
Because the rookie head coach, only handed the reins at Tannadice back in September, never really got a chance to see Plan A, B or even C in action on Saturday.
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