Dundee midfielder Nick Ross insists he always felt they could close the gap on St Johnstone.
The Dark Blues can move above Saints and level on points with fourth-placed Ross County with victory tonight at Dens Park.
That would be some turnaround when you consider that when Perth men last won a match the 3-2 away win over Ross County in the league on December 5 they were sitting pretty, a full 10 points ahead of Paul Hartley’s side.
Their form slump, however, has allowed Dundee and others to make up ground.
Ross felt confident that the Dark Blues were capable of reeling in the sides above them, including Tommy Wright’s team.
“We can go above St Johnstone if we win, albeit they have a game in hand,” said Ross.
“Being in the top six come the end of the season has always been our target.
“We always felt we could catch the teams above us because we have always been creating chances.
“It is maybe the other side of things that has been the problem, with us letting in to many goals.
“Going forward, though, we know we can score against anyone.
“Saints have hit a little sticky patch and maybe they have been low on confidence.
“They have not won for eight matches but that can just happen in this league.
“They had a good spell at the start of the season when they were doing really well but they have now hit that bad patch.
“There have been a lot of teams done that, to be fair.
“There are not many who have managed to be really consistent.
“Even Aberdeen had a bad run.
“It is a crazy league.
“You think that after a few wins you are up there in the top six but then you draw or get beat and you are dragged down to the bottom.
“The thing is that it’s just so tight, especially where we are.
“The teams are bunched together.”
Ross admitted that Saints’ winless streak has been mentioned in the Dens dressing room this week but he also struck a note of caution.
He said: “Obviously you do think about it but things can turn around so quickly for teams.
“You can go into a match thinking that your opponents are low on confidence and not playing well and they can go and beat you two or three-nil.
“You have to be wary of them looking to bounce back. You have to be ready for that.”