Kane Hemmings believes all is well at Dundee after they came back to draw at home with Partick Thistle.
Hemmings, a first-half substitute for the injured Rhys Healey, fired the ball home with just six minutes to go at Dens Park on Saturday.
That squared things up after a Liam Lindsay header with a mere five minutes on the clock had given the Jags the edge.
It may have been only a point for Paul Hartley’s team but it brought them level on 18 points with both Hamilton Accies and Ross County.
Hemmings said: “It’s not all gloom and doom.
“We maybe should have picked up more points over the last few weeks but we are still going OK.
“You can say we are joint fifth in the table and it’s tight in our area of the league.
“I think it is going to be like that all season, with teams dropping points and others picking points up then it changing again the next week.
“Anyone can beat anyone but we are right in the mix.”
Partick’s performance, particularly in the first half, belied their second-bottom position in the Premiership.
They looked comfortable on the ball, well-drilled and in the veteran Paul Gallacher had an experienced goalkeeper who produced a string of great saves and talked his defence through the match.
Despite Thistle’s fine display, Hemmings was in no doubt when asked if the draw was deserved by Dundee.
He replied: “Yes, 100%, and we could have gotten more out of it.
“I think overall we deserved at least a point out of the game.”
The Englishman now hopes that his finding the target can help keep him in the side when the action restarts against Hearts at Tynecastle after the international break.
“I haven’t had too many chances over the last few weeks so I felt the goal was long overdue,” he said.
“It was nice to get the monkey off the back, as they say.
“I don’t get too down personally when not scoring but you do start think that maybe it’s not coming.
“You have to keep getting into the positions and not shy away from taking shots.
“So it’s important to keep doing the basics even if the goals aren’t coming.
“You have to back yourself.
“The game against Kilmarnock wasn’t my best one I hold my hand up to that one and then I really didn’t get involved last week against Inverness.
“So I came on and got the chance to score.
“I would hope I have given the gaffer some food for thought.
“When you are not playing you are not happy but I scored a goal so hopefully I can stay in now.”
The Dark Blues had been hoping to do much better in front of their own fans after going down to Kilmarnock at Dens a fortnight earlier.
They had come close to opening the scoring after just three minutes when a great run from Healey ended with his shot from just outside the box being superbly saved by Gallacher.
However, the visitors were ahead just two minutes later.
A corner was fired over from the right by Stuart Bannigan and the unmarked Lindsay leapt to nod into the net at the near post.
A great strike on 12 minutes from Rory Loy forced Gallacher to make another fine stop then the Thistle goalie was his team’s saviour again when he blocked a drive from inside the box from Paul McGowan on 25 minutes, allowing the visitors to hit back with a break that was only halted when Kris Doolan was flagged offside.
There was an injury blow for Dundee on the half-hour mark when Healey was carried off injured to be replaced by Hemmings.
Doolan came close to putting Partick two up when he sent an acrobatic, overhead kick just wide of Scott Bain’s right-hand post then the Thistle frontman missed a great chance when he just couldn’t get the ball from out under his feet when just yards from goal.
On 52 minutes, McGowan connected with a Hemmings cross but once again Gallacher was there to save for the Jags then he was at it again four minutes later when he dived to keep out a shot from Greg Stewart.
Dens boss Paul Hartley brought on Riccardo Calder for Nicky Low on 63 minutes in a bid to stretch the Jags.
However, it was the visitors who almost added to their tally on 75 minutes when Bain pushed a vicious strike from sub Gary Fraser over the bar then Lindsay headed the resultant corner inches wide.
With just six minutes of regulation time left, though, an improved second-half display from the hosts was rewarded when Hemmings found the back of the net.
It was end-to-end stuff after that but neither side could conjure up a winner.
Hartley, meanwhile, insisted he always thought the equaliser would arrive.
He said: “I felt the goal would come.
“We seem to have a habit of scoring late goals.
“That has been a trademark of the team all season.
“I felt our play deserved, especially in the second half which was good for us.
“We felt we deserved to get at least a draw out of the game.
“I felt the players didn’t give up. They kept passing it and didn’t go direct.
As regards the injury to Healey, Hartley added: “We will see how he is.
“He will have to go for an X-ray.”