Paul McGowan has admitted Dundee are in a “scary situation” as they creep towards Halloween in desperate need of a win.
The Dark Blues are still stuck at the foot of the Premiership table after losing 2-1 to St Johnstone on Sunday and now fans will be nervously biting their nails when second-bottom side Partick Thistle visit Dens Park tomorrow night.
It may have been down to the time of year but McGowan painted a spooky picture as he summed up the state of play at a club with only six points out of a possible 30.
The midfielder said: “To be perfectly honest, it’s not been good enough.
“It’s two different teams that turn up – one at training and one at matches.
“The way we train is unbelievable and we’re right at it then it comes to the game and we don’t know what’s happening to us.
“We’ve got the frighteners on us a bit.
“It is starting to get a bit scary and I think it is dawning on us.
“See when you are on a run like this it is hard to get out of it and your next win seems so far away.
“The confidence is draining out of us.
“You can understand the fans’ reaction. They want us to do well and you can hear their frustration – and rightly so.
“We were second to every ball in the second half and that’s not like us.
“What St Johnstone do is they know how to win games. They might not be the prettiest team in the league but they know how to win a game.
“All credit to them and we just can’t do that at the moment.
“It is a scary situation.”
McGowan set up a great chance for Yordi Tiejsse at 0-0 in the Saints game but the Dutchman squandered the opportunity.
His frustration at his colleague’s missed sitter was understandable but he stressed that he is not singling out one player – all are culpable in his view.
McGowan added: “You look around the changing room to see who’s going to step up and score that goal.
“In the first half, we had big Yordi with the chance and that would have given us a big lift had he scored.
“But it’s just not happening, and I am not blaming Yordi by the way.
“It’s just things like that and the chances we had the previous week at Hearts – we have not been clinical enough.
“It is a massive worry just now.
“In the second half they (Saints) wanted it more than us and that is embarrassing to say.
“They out-fought us in the second half and we just didn’t turn up.
“I am speaking about the full team here, myself included.
“We were in the game and I thought we played well in the first half.
“In the second, we lost a goal to a set-play and it killed us.”
McGowan knows what it will take to get Dundee out of their current position, and it ain’t pretty.
“It is going to take a battle now,” he said.
“I just hope we have the boys who will roll the sleeves up because questions will be asked over the next couple of weeks.
“We all need to look – every player – in the mirror.
“We all have to take a look at ourselves because this is a great club with great fans and the players, ultimately, are letting the club down.
“You can put the blame on the manager or anybody else but it’s the players – we just haven’t been good enough.
“People might talk about changing managers but that’s not the way to go. For me, that would be the wrong decision because it is about the players.
“The next two games (at home to Thistle and away to Hamilton Accies on Saturday) are massive and if we can win them then we can push on.
“Mind you, those teams will be looking at us and saying: ‘We quite fancy our chances.’
“That is the way people will be looking at it because we are in a rut, losing games and goals.”
