Dundee assistant boss Simon Rusk admits his side’s late 1-0 defeat to St Mirren was painful and has called on his side to show some “fight” in their bid for Premiership survival.
A Connor Ronan header in the 93rd minute left The Dee one point adrift at the foot of the table.
It was a missed opportunity for the Dark Blues who could have moved ahead of St Johnstone with three points with their game in hand.
But a home win never looked likely and Dundee were left to suffer late heartache.
‘Painful, preventable’
Rusk, who spoke after the game in the absence of Mark McGhee, said it was hard to take.
“Conceding that late is a painful one for everyone and it was preventable as well,” he said.
“I don’t think we can have too much of a complaint about the result on the balance of the second half.
“The first half was even but they had more momentum in the second half and we struggled to turn it back the other way.
“We have to assess it and understand it in more depth. The fact is we were not at the level we needed to be in the second half.
“We have to stick together and work hard as a group.
“We have got to fight, when we step out on the pitch we have to get in front in these marginal games.
“The desire levels need to be there, I don’t think they’re not there, but at the moment we are lacking the quality and belief.
“We need to find the balance between dogged and solid but scoring goals too – we didn’t have that tonight.”
Ashcroft blow
Dundee were dealt an early blow before the game had even kicked off with Lee Ashcroft having to withdraw from the team.
The club said it was due to the centre-back feeling unwell, with Zeno Ibsen Rossi taking his place.
“Lee wasn’t well before the game, it was an illness thing and hopefully it won’t keep him out too long,” Rusk said.
St Mirren reaction
Meanwhile, St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson thought his side were worthy of their narrow win.
“We got exactly what we deserved, we dominated the game,” he said.
“We could have had six with the chances we had.
“You think that it might not be your night at times but we scored a very good goal and got our just rewards for staying calm and the quality of the chances.
Dundee 0-1 St Mirren: Toothless Dee remain rock bottom after late heartbreak
