Dundee have a chance to grab some breathing space between themselves and the bottom of the Premiership when they head up the A9 to basement club Inverness Caledonian Thistle tomorrow.
A victory for the Dark Blues would see them move eight points ahead of the Highlanders.
That means the emphasis will be on getting goals at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium, making the likes of Marcus Haber, Craig Wighton, Faissal El Bakhtaoui and possibly loan-signing Henrik Ojamaa key men.
Midfielder Nick Ross, though, acknowledges the man at the other end of the park from the strikers is likely to prove just as important to the chances of taking three points.
He’s highlighted the form of goalkeeper Scott Bain and, after disappointing defeats against St Mirren and Aberdeen in the last two outings, has conceded the rest of the team must do more the help their No 1.
“Bainey was unbelievable at Aberdeen on Friday. That’s what he does,” said Ross.
“We almost rely on him at times and we’ve got him to thank for keeping the score down up there.
“But we’d like him to be quieter, so we need to defend better on the pitch.”
Even with Bain’s heroics, there’s no denying Dundee are shipping too many goals right now.
There have only been two clean sheets in the last 10 outings and right now they are averaging just shy of two-goals-against per game.
Ross knows that is not just damaging hopes of a second top-six finish in three seasons, it’s in danger of dragging Paul Hartley’s team back down into a relegation battle.
For him, the positive is the top half of the Premiership remains within touching distance but he is well aware they are not yet far enough away from the bottom to ignore that.
“We’ve talked about the top six but we maybe need to start looking behind us as well, because we’re not picking up points,” he added.
“We need to get points on the board, and Inverness away is one of the toughest fixtures you can get.
“We will really need to be on our game for that.”
Former team-mate in the Highland capital, Richie Foran, has not had the easiest start to his managerial career.
His 23 top-flight games in charge have yielded just three wins and Caley last picked up a full three points when they beat Motherwell at the end of October.
The did, however, beat Dundee at the Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in September.
That plus his knowledge of Foran serves as a warning to Ross.
“I know the type of character Richie is and he will have his players all fired up.
“It’s so tight at the bottom of the table it’s hard to predict who, if anyone, will be cut adrift.
“We just need to keep ourselves out of it by putting points on the board.
“The last two games in particular have been disappointing.
“We haven’t created enough chances and our defending hasn’t been up to standard.
“The league table is very tight at the bottom. Every team can beat anyone.
“Nobody is certain for the top six other than the top three or four, and nobody is certain for relegation.
“We just need to keep scrapping away and win as many as we can.”
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