Dundee striker Danny Johnson hasn’t completely given up hope of catching runaway Championship leaders Dundee United.
A 17-point gap would make it mission impossible in the eyes of many but the former Motherwell man wants to see what will happen if they start chipping away at their city rival’s huge lead – starting with today’s game against Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
He said: “You have to believe until it is mathematically impossible otherwise, what’s the point, really?
“You have to keep pushing and everyone has to keep striving to catch them.
“They are out in front and have a bit of a gap but if they get beaten one week and we start closing that gap then the pressure will be put on them.
“There’s no pressure on us. We just have to keep picking up points and when they slip up make sure we are there to capitalise.
“We are at home so hopefully we can put a performance on to get the fans out of their seats.
“If we are to have any ambitions of catching United we have to get results here.”
The draw against United last Friday night and the fact that the performance was much better than in the previous two derbies has inflated Dens Park self-belief.
Johnson said: “It is a lot more positive around the place just now.
“We have had a few good results and are four unbeaten. So we are starting to put together a little run which is something we needed to do earlier on in the season.
“But we are doing that now so hopefully we can keep it going against Inverness.
“We had quite a lot of signings in the summer so everyone had to get together and gel.
“Obviously signing for a club that has just been relegated, everyone wants to go straight back up and that’s the aim but with the amount of new lads who came in, it can take time.
“We have had to work at it and I think it is starting to click now.
“We had been causing ourselves a few problems with mistakes here and there. That obviously contributed to a lack of form but I think we have put a stop to that and are progressing well.
“This year, anyone can beat anyone again so it is a tough league and you have to be on your game every week to get a result.”
