Charlie Mulgrew in brutally honest Dundee United verdict but hurting veteran insists a turnaround is coming

Charlie Mulgrew has ridden enough highs and lows on the football rollercoaster to know the next twist isn’t far away.

He certainly hopes so after playing his part in a three-day shocker for Dundee United that saw them crash out of Europe and walloped by Hearts - shipping 11 goals along the way. Mulgrew admits the Tannadice squad is in a “sore and painful” place mentally after seeing their promising start to the campaign stall.

But the veteran defender insists anyone blaming fatigue for the 7-0 trouncing by Alkmaar and 4-1 thrashing off Hearts is only cheating themselves as they look to get back on the rails. The responsibility, according to the 36-year-old, lies at the feet of the players as he called for an honest period of self-reflection among Jack Ross’ troops. United were sluggish in Sunday’s defeat at Tynecastle, conceding after just 43 seconds. But the tiring schedule of four games in 11 days can’t be used as an excuse the centre-back insists.

“We’re all athletes – professional football players. We’ve had a tough pre-season and we’ve done enough to get to a level where we are fit enough to play two games a week." Mulgrew said.

“The players take full responsibility for what happened on Sunday. We’re going to have to pick ourselves up quickly.

“We all have to self-reflect. You look at yourself firstly and be honest with yourself and ask yourself if you’ve done enough. That’s what I’ll be doing definitely. The answer will probably be ‘no I haven’t’. You need to pick yourself up quickly but it’s not easy.”

Mulgrew was part of a Celtic side that beat Barcelona in the Champions League but also knows the other side of the game having felt the humiliation of going out to Maribor and being trounced 8-1 on aggregate by