He didn’t enjoy being removed from the action, but Neil McCann loved the result as his Dundee eased their relegation worries with a vital win over St Johnstone on Saturday.
The ban, a result of his actions the last time Saints visited Dens, meant the manager had to watch this one from the stand.
And he liked what he saw as Sofien Moussa’s double gave the Dark Blues their first home win since mid-December and moved them six points clear of the bottom of the table.
And there was special praise from Neil for that man Moussa after he struck right at the start and just before the end to set up the biggest win of the season so far.
“I thought he was brilliant, I really did.
“Although sometimes it can break off him, at times his hold-up play to bring us into the game was exceptional,” he said.
“And he got two huge goals for us.”
There was praise for the team as whole as well, particularly for the positive reaction to losing a Steven MacLean equaliser five minutes from the end, but still going on to take all three points.
“All round I think at times everybody did something that was worthy of note, whether it was defending, tucking in or covering a runner,” he added.
“Questions might have been asked of us when we lost a goal, but the boys just seemed to say we’re not accepting it and I am so happy for them.”
Ban served, Neil will be back in the technical area for this weekend’s trip to Motherwell and he admitted not being on the touchline on Saturday had been frustrating.
“It was difficult,” Neil said.
“I didn’t enjoy it one bit. You do get a different perspective of the match watching it from there (the stand), clearly, but it’s not great when you can’t directly affect it on the field.
“There were a few things obviously I wasn’t pleased about, but in the end these feelings just disappear because of the result.”
Saturday saw attacker Craig Wighton make his first start of an injury-ravaged season and there to watch him were scouts from Shrewsbury Town.
The League One outfit are challenging for promotion to the Championship and if they go up will be looking to strengthen their squad over the summer.
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