Dundee defender Eddie Malone has dismissed any notion that the Dark Blues are on the ropes as the promotion battle enters the last few rounds.
A draw at Ross County on Saturday meant the Dens men got knocked off the top of the table by Inverness Caley Thistle.
Anything short of a win at Dunfermline tonight will see further doubts raised over their chances of playing SPL football next season.
But Malone has rejected suggestions Gordon Chisholm’s men are lacking the stomach for the championship run-in with just seven games left.
“It is an easy thing for people to turn round and say we are bottling it it is a lot of nonsense,” he declared.
“It must be people who are not at games who are phoning in radio stations so they don’t know what they are talking about.
“OK, we dropped two points at Ross County at the weekend but they are flying right now and are in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup.
“We were just a few minutes away from getting what would have been an excellent result up in Dingwall.
“It is all about who shows the most consistency from here on in and we are still confident it will be us.”
Malone insists there is nothing wrong with the morale at the club just now.
“The mood in the dressing room is still good,” he said.Still positive”We are still positive that we are going to get there come May.
“We feel that one or two decisions maybe aren’t going our way but we have kept plugging away and played quite well at County.
“It’s the business end of the season so the games are coming thick and fast.
“Now we just have to try and pick up as many points as possible between now and the end of the campaign.
“We have to look after ourselves and not worry too much about anyone else.”
While Chisholm’s side attempt to reclaim pole position, Malone reckons Inverness are about to find out how hard it is to stay on top.
“A lot depends on how they handle it,” he said.
“They have gone 14 games unbeaten but how long they can sustain that?Twists and turns”There will be a lot of twists and turns still to come.”
Chisholm has called on his players to bounce back at the earliest opportunity by beating the Pars.
“Nothing has been mentioned about the fact we are off the top of the table,” said the Dundee boss.
“Dunfermline is a massive game and we can take an lot of positives into East End Park.
“The lads’ attitude, desire and commitment was very pleasing and it was just annoying that we didn’t come away from County with full points.
“At this stage of the season it’s all about points, which the players are well aware of.
“It is never easy down at Dunfermline but we have a lot of good attacking players who can take the game to them.
“I am looking for another high-tempo performance from the lads and hopefully we get the result we are looking for.”
Goalkeeper Rab Douglas is still out injured so Tony Bullock keeps his place.