Dundee boss Mark McGhee says his side’s two-goal comeback in a breathless Tannadice derby showed they have the belief to survive this season.
The Dark Blues remain bottom of the Premiership table going into the end-of-season split, though the point in the 2-2 draw at Dundee United cut the gap to St Johnstone to five.
They haven’t picked up a league victory in their last eight matches heading into the final five matches of the campaign.
But the nature of the comeback – two goals in two minutes from Danny Mullen and skipper Charlie Adam – tells McGhee his squad can make a great escape.
“There is a belief we can survive,” the Dundee boss said.
“Unless you have that you don’t get back into games like we did today.
“I think there is a spirit and a belief about them that one of these days they will win a football match.
“We didn’t feel sorry for ourselves when we went two goals down, we got back up again and fought our way back into the game.
“The nature of the goals as well, there is a danger you start to feel things are going against you.
“But you can’t allow that, these things happen.
Valuable point
“We know what a wand of a left foot Charlie Mulgrew has got but it was a cross, not a shot and it ended up in the top corner.
“I am pleased with the point.
“We know we have to beat St Johnstone when we play them and win one more game than them, but it is only one more game and before today it was more than that.
“So it could be a really valuable point and means we go into the break before the split knowing we are in good form.
“We can take heart from that and we will come out fighting in the next five games.”
Charlie Adam ‘on the edge’
The Dark Blues fell behind to a first-half header from Danny Mullen after a glaring error from goalkeeper Ian Lawlor.
Charlie Mulgrew then swung a wonderful free-kick into the top corner from out wide before Mullen’s header was followed up by Adam’s stunning strike, all within six second-half minutes.
“I wasn’t sure if Charlie’s goal hit someone on the way in because it moved so much,” McGhee added.
“We need Charlie out there, he’s a huge influence and a presence.
“He’s a player other teams worry about and we need as many of them as we can get.
“Charlie fires people up, I spoke to them before the game about the importance of keeping eleven men on the pitch.
“He plays on the edge, you need that – that’s what I want.”
Ian Lawlor
The opening goal came from a big error from Lawlor as he came for a long ball, only to get caught out by the wind and left in no man’s land. Nicky Clark would then head into an empty net on 12 minutes.
McGhee, though, wasn’t too critical of the Irishman, saying: “Ian has been brilliant, he’s made loads of saves that have kept us in games so we forgive him his mistake.
“It doesn’t always end up in a goal but it did today, that’s what happens sometimes.”
