Dundee boss Jim McIntyre admits he was delighted by the mix of effort and ability that saw his side move off the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership after a surprise win at Hearts on Wednesday night.
The Dark Blues made the most of St Mirren getting thumped 4-0 at Celtic to jump a point ahead of them thanks to their unexpected 2-1 success at Tynecastle.
If it was the night’s shock result, Jim did highlight it was a deserved success and his team played some of their best football of the season to get it.
However, he was in no doubt as to what provided the platform for some good football and two fine goals from Genseric Kusunga and Andrew Nelson.
“To get chance to play your football you’ve got to win your battles. We made sure we won our battles,” he said.
“We got a lot of headers in, won our second headers and that lets you play on the front foot, which we did.
“It would be unfair to single anyone out because from front to back everyone did well.”
Hearts gaffer Craig Levein felt his team were rubbish on the night but Jim was quick to point out Dundee were up against a team that had been going well.
“I thought we stood up to a real strong physical team with a lot of talented players because Hearts have got a bit of everything,” he added.
“They’ve shown in their last three games with three clean sheets they can win games ugly and they can also win with a wee bit of flair.
“We knew to take anything out of the game first and foremost we had to make sure we were competing. If we did that I was confident if we could get the ball into wider areas we would cause problems.”
Delighted as he was at ending a seven-game streak without a win and at moving off the bottom, Jim was keeping his feet firmly on the ground.
“It was a great night and great for the fans. I was delighted for them because they have had a tough season. The players can be pleased with their work.
“However, we could be back bottom by Sunday night, so we know we’ve not turned things round yet. We’ve got it all to do and that’s the way we must approach every game. That starts with Motherwell on Saturday.”
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