The way Dundee responded to the loss of two key players at Premiership St Mirren is “hugely encouraging” for their Championship chances.
That’s the view of goalkeeper Adam Legzdins after seeing the Dark Blues edged out of the Scottish Cup on penalties in Paisley.
However, had finishing been sharper, the second-tier side could easily have been facing up to a trip to holders Celtic in the last 16.
Close-knit
Dundee lost Tyler French to a suspected broken leg in the opening stages before right-back Cammy Kerr hobbled off with a back injury.
But the blow of losing two key players didn’t affect the performance of the Dark Blues.
“That was pleasing because we have such a close-knit group, staff and players,” Legzdins said.
“You bring on substitutions and, if anything, we grew into the game and it didn’t throw us off.
“That is massively encouraging going back to the Championship.
“You want to know everyone is ready to contribute and I thought our subs were excellent on Saturday.
“It’s disappointing to lose people to injury but it’s a chance for someone else.
“No one likes to see what happened to Tyler, it’s really disappointing for him.
“We’ll get round him and hopefully he’s not out for long.”
‘Aspire to’
Ultimately, Dundee want to be playing the likes of St Mirren every week by getting themselves back to the Premiership for next season.
“This is the division we want to be playing in next season,” Legzdins added.
“St Mirren are an established team in this division and that’s what we have to aspire to.
“We need to build consistency in performance and style.
“Hopefully if we get the job done this season, we’ll be in better stead to stay up next season.
“The overwhelming feeling is we went toe-to-toe with an established Premiership team and that gives us massive confidence for the rest of the season.”
Big games?
And Legzdins hopes that confidence translates into two victories this week as Dundee prepare to face Dunfermline in the Challenge Cup and league leaders Queen’s Park in the Championship.
Tuesday night’s Pars clash is the third attempt to play the SPFL Trust Trophy last eight tie while the weekend is a chance to cut the gap to the top of the division.
“Every week is massive at the moment,” the Dens No 1 added.
“Tuesday is a good game, weather-permitting, I hope everything is fine this time and we can get going with that.
“I’m sure the manager will have to re-jig things around and see where we are at.
“Then it’s a big game on Saturday against Queen’s Park but I don’t want to get caught saying games are big games in the Championship.
“Everyone can beat everyone and it seems like whoever we play are on a good run or are top of the table.
“You can’t get caught up in talking about big games.
“The important thing is building consistency and going on runs. We’ve just come off a great run and we are looking to get back onto that.”
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