Simon Rusk is calling on Dundee to rekindle their Dee-fiant spirit in a bid to stave off relegation from the Premiership.
The Dee have squandered their chance to move off the bottom, losing their game in hand over fellow league strugglers St Johnstone.
They face Rangers, Aberdeen and United in three massive fixtures before the league split, all of which will be played in the City of Discovery.
But first, they will have to dust themselves down ahead of a Scottish Cup quarter-final against the Gers on Sunday.
St Mirren defeat ‘not terminal’
Rusk knows his side face an uphill task but insists they are up for the fight.
And to ready themselves for that fight, he is calling on everyone involved with the club, including the fans, to get together behind the team.
“It was a blow,” Rusk said, when asked about the late defeat to St Mirren. “But it’s not a terminal aspect.
“We’ve got games and points to fight for. That’s what we’ll be doing.
“We’ll have a period of hurting but we have to pick ourselves up. And [the Scottish Cup game] is probably a good one to really lift the place.
“What we do need at the minute is we need to unite as a group of players.
“I don’t want to stand here and make excuses but we are going through adversity and are missing a lot of key players through injury and Covid.
“What we all need to do is be together. This club has a history of fighting through difficult times and we need to do that again.
“The players, the staff and the supporters – we all need each other.
“That’s the only way we get through this.”
‘Still in our hands’
With just eight league games to maintain the Dark Blues’ Premiership status, Rusk says he and Mark McGhee are still convinced they can beat the drop.
Dundee weren’t up to scratch on Wednesday night and only managed one shot on target.
But the assistant boss has seen enough of his side to know they are capable of playing top-flight football.
“We went into this game on the back of two really solid performances,” Rusk said.
“Although we accept we aren’t creating a load of goal-scoring opportunities at this moment in time there’s been a lot of solidity in the last two games.
“What we’ve got to do now is apply a high level of consistency to that and find a way to get more of a foothold in games.
“But there are factors in play as well that have to be considered.
“We’re still in that zone with our destiny in our own hands. That’s what we have to focus on.
“We’ve got the split coming up, we’ve got a lot of players coming back and there’s a lot we can still be positive and energetic about.”
