Jim McIntyre has left his players in no doubt what they produced in Saturday’s key clash at St Mirren was the kind of form that will see Dundee relegated.
The Dark Blues boss was bitterly disappointed by the 2-1 Paisley defeat that saw his side crash back down to the bottom of the Premiership.
What frustrated him most was their tame reaction to falling behind in the second half.
Dundee had made the perfect start when Ethan Robson struck the opener in just 30 seconds.
Eleven-and-a-half minutes later they were pegged back but Jim felt they were in the game until they conceded a second just short of the hour mark.
After that, Jim felt his men fell out of the game and that’s something he’s not going to tolerate.
“The most disappointing thing for me in the whole game was the reaction after we lose the second goal. That’s where we’ve got to stand up and be counted and we never,” he blasted.
“It wasn’t good enough, it’s as simple as that and I’m not going to dress it up.
“They’ve been told that if you want to get yourself out of the situation we’re in then we need to stand up and be counted more than they did.
“Obviously, the result is a sore one but there is a way if you’re going to get beat and we never showed that.
“That’s the first time I’ve seen that. Our reaction from going behind in all the other games has been really good.”
Jim apologised to the 1,600 fans who packed the away end at the Simple Digital Arena and had no complaints about the boos from them as things went wrong.
“We had a brilliant away support and we let them down in terms of the reaction. I think there would have been heckles anyway if you lost but they’re entitled to be really disappointed with our response.”
Dundee now just have seven games to save their season and next up are St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday night.
Away from the relegation struggle, Saints midfielder Blair Alston has been linked with a move to Dens Park in the summer.
The 27-year-old has made 23 appearances this term but has been sidelined by a groin problem and is not expect to be fit to face his potential new employers this week.
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