Dundee midfielder James Vincent has hailed the arrival of Neil McCann as a βnew start for everyone.β
The Dark Blues travel to Fir Park to face Motherwell today in one of their most important matches of recent times.
A horrific run of seven straight Premiership defeats has dragged them right into the relegation mire and cost boss Paul Hartley his job.
McCann is the man Dundee have turned to, hoping for some of the magic he produced during his playing days on the wing at Dens to have made its way through the years.
There is a mountain of pressure on both the new interim boss and the players to stop the rot and Vincent believes they can do it under McCannβs leadership.
He said: βWith the new manager coming in, for us it is like hitting the restart button.
βThe gaffer has come in with good ideas about how we can put it right.
βIt has been fresh and positive, and everyone is looking to get the results we need.
βIt’s been a new start for everyone.
βHe spoke to us and said it’s not been easy with recent results but training has been good and standards have been high.
βThe mindset is good and if we can keep that right then hopefully that will help us.
βOn day one he came in and he set high standards in training.
βFrom the get-go it was competitive, with everyone working hard.
βThere has been good clarity in the way he has talked to the boys.
βHe has spoken to each and every one of us individually to have a chat and let us know what he thinks about us and about our game, what we can add and what we can bring to the shape he wants to play.
βPersonally, I think the clarity has impressed me.
βHe is a figure in the game and he has watched multiple teams over the course of a season and he knows all about us.
βIf the lads can take on board what he is saying it will all be good.β
With all the upbeat words coming out of Dens, you had to remind yourself that this is a group of players that have lost every match since they last visited Motherwell back on February 25, albeit that was a spectacular 5-1 success against the Steelmen.
Vincent said: βWe understand that we have to put recent results right after the run we have been on.
βBut in terms of the negative side of things we have to put it to one side.
βWe need to forget about it and move on.
βThe manager said the split is a mini league and we want to do as well as we can.
βWe have already played each team so we know their strengths and weaknesses and hopefully we can get some good results.
βYou have to look back to that game at Motherwell and take confidence.
βThere are positives to take from that and everyone will go to Fir Park with a bit of a spring in our step.β
McCann, who will have to do without the suspended Cammy Kerr for this game, said: βPicking the team is going to be a really hard decision because we have been working on a game plan and I have had everyone involved in that.
βThe whole lot of them have been brilliant so itβs a tough decision.
βBut itβs the old clichΓ©, it wonβt just be the 11 players who win us the game on Saturday it will be everything weβve done in the week leading up to it.
βThe result down there the last time should help the players because theyβve fared well against Motherwell in the past.
βBut Motherwell will have that in their minds and they will want to change that as well.
βYou can feed on vibes and a mental state of positivity, having been so dominant at Fir Park the last time.
βBut by the same token, they will be trying to eradicate that result from their minds and start afresh in these five games.β