BARRY SMITH stood defiant last night after Dundee started the New Year with defeat in the Tayside derby against St Johnstone, and the prospect grew that the Dens Park boss is about to be sacked.
Yesterday’s 1-0 McDiarmid Park defeat was their sixth loss out of the last seven SPL games, the other result being a draw, and one Dundee supporter produced a placard in Perth saying “Smith Must Go”.
And Courier Sport understands that discussions have been held between directors about the young manager losing his job in the next few days.
For Smith’s part, leaving his post is the last thing on his mind, however, and he still believes his team will end the season with their top-flight status intact.
He said: “The fans are entitled to their opinion. I know what I’m doing and I know the club will get out of its position with me there.
“Listen, I got stick as a player at Dundee and came through it stronger. I’ll get stick as a manager and I’ll come through it stronger again. I’ve got a lot of affinity with the club and I want to make sure they stay in this league. I’ll continue to work as hard as ever to make sure we do so.
“We always knew it would be a tough, tough season. We’ve been proved right. We need the supporters to realise that and understand that it’s not going to get any easier, but we will get better.”
A bad day was made even worse by captain Stephen O’Donnell sustaining a knee injury that could well be ligament damage and end his season.
Smith said: “Potentially it’s a serious injury. He hasn’t been checked out yet but it doesn’t look too good.
“I’m gutted for him because he’s had a really hard time over the last few months. It was his third game after coming back. It would be very hard for him if he’s got another bad injury.”
On a match that was decided by a Liam Craig first-half goal, Smith observed: “There was a lot of work and endeavour but they’ve had a chance that they took and we’ve had a chance that we didn’t.”
Saints boss Steve Lomas admitted the football on offer was not vintage stuff, but there were mitigating circumstances for his team.
“Some people lost the will to live and I was nearly joining them,” he joked. “It certainly wasn’t a great game.
“I think the accumulation of matches told. That was our sixth game in about 21 days. It’s been the same 15 or 16 players who have played in them all.
“Our main objective today was to get three points going into the break and I’m delighted we’ve done that.
“To play not so well and win is something we’ll take. Now we’ll get a chance to refresh the boys and come back ready for a very tough away match at Motherwell.
“We’ll give them a few days off, and this break has come at the right time.”
The likes of Murray Davidson and Liam Craig have been the subject of transfer speculation recently, so whether Lomas has the same squad at his disposal when they
reconvene is in doubt.
He pointed out: “We can’t do anything about that. We’ll just see what happens. Unless a few go out I wouldn’t have thought there would be many coming in.”
enicolson@thecourier.co.uk
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