Despite their improving performances and upturn in results over the past few months, Dundee head coach Steven Pressley has never veered from his “staying in the division is our priority” mantra.
I have seen a lot of the Dark Plues this season and watched them grow into a side who play attractive football and are capable of causing any team problems.
In recent times more often than not I have left their matches thoroughly entertained and believing they won’t find themselves in any bother at the bottom.
Despite all that, Dundee are now embroiled in the fight to avoid the dreaded relegation play-off spot.
Pressley’s team are eighth in the table, five points above second-bottom Kilmarnock and St Mirren and two above Aberdeen.
There are seven games left and Dundee’s final pre-split fixtures are tough – at home to Celtic then a potentially pivotal trip to Killie.
Pressley has plenty to ponder during this international break, which his side went into following a difficult run of matches – a trio of home games with Hibs, Motherwell and Dundee United sandwiched between trips to Aberdeen and Hearts.
Dundee only lost one of the above fixtures, and won two, but it hasn’t been enough to pull them clear of the danger zone.
The Dens Park side have spent a large part of the campaign playing catch-up after a difficult start to Pressley’s reign.
They have shown enough quality to suggest survival can be achieved without a nerve-shredding finale – but no one at Dens can relax in the meantime.
