Drop not Dun deal for Miller
BY JOHN GARDNER KENNY MILLER insists there is plenty of life left in Dundee as they battle to beat the drop.
Jim McIntyre’s side slumped to a third straight loss at the weekend as Sean Clare’s strike handed Hearts three points.
They have lost to Rangers and Hibs it doesn’t get any easier on Sunday as Celtic come to Dens Park.
Striker Miller believes matching Hearts for much of the game has given Dundee belief they can climb out of the relegation zone.
He said: “If we play like that there will be plenty of life in us.
“We played against a top-six team in Hearts and we were decent against Hibs too but were on the wrong side of the result.
“Hearts’ goal was very scrappy and we can’t afford to give teams a leg-up. We’ve done that too often this season.
“It’s Celtic at home next and it does not come much harder.”
Miller dismissed Hearts boss Craig Levein’s postmatch comments his side deserved the win.
He added: “I disagree with Craig, I don’t think they edged it.
“We had better chances but didn’t take them. Their keeper has made two, three really good saves.
“We did more than enough to get a point and I didn’t feel like we were getting overrun.” FROM broken ribs to a punctured lung, Gary Caldwell has suffered more than his share of bruising battles at Tynecastle.
But tonight the Partick Thistle boss hopes to banish all the bad memories of painful visits to Gorgie as a player for Celtic and their sworn cross-city enemies Hibs.
This time if there’s anyone to be felled he wants it to be the Jambos as his Championship strugglers strive to pull off a David and Goliath-style cup shock of epic proportions.
He knows most people will look at tonight’s Scottish Cup quarter-final replay and assume his Jags missed their big chance in the first game when they drew 1-1 on their own patch.
But Caldwell believes his players showed enough in an impressive second-half display to suggest they can cause Craig Levein’s muscular side more problems.
Especially now confidence has been bolstered further by a cracking weekend win over Dundee United that hauled them off the foot of the Championship.
Caldwell said: “In different matches there I broke my ribs, punctured my lung and was sent off so I don’t have great memories of Tynecastle.
“Although I always looked forward to going there because of the atmosphere.
“The initial period – the first 25-30 minutes – they’ll throw everything at us and we have to be prepared for that.
“They’re a physical side – they always have been since the days when I was a player – who put you under pressure and make you defend so we’ll have to stand up to that challenge. I thought we did that in the first game extremely well.
“In terms of defending and dealing with their physicality they only had three shots on target and that shows how well we defended and we’ll have to do the same again.”
At least he has a clean bill of healthy players feeling 100 per cent up to that physical test.
Caldwell added: “We’ve got a group chat for the medical and coaching staff.
“So on Sunday night the physio sent in an emoji with the heart eyes because we have a full squad with everyone fit and training.
“It’s a first since I came here. Recently we’ve had four or five small muscle injuries which was frustrating but the physios and medical department worked extremely hard and everyone is fit for an important part of the season which is good.”
Jags defender James Penrice reckons the Cup has already proved the catalyst that kickstarted a season that for so long seemed destined for disaster.
They are far from out of the woods with back-to-back relegation still a scary possibility as Thistle languish in second-bottom spot just two points ahead of Alloa.
But there’s no doubt that confidence has soared on the back of a five-game winning streak through January and February that started with a morale-boosting 4-1 Scottish Cup success against Stranraer.
Penrice said: “That cup tie was massive for us. We got the ball down in that game and really put into effect everything the gaffer has been saying to us since he came in.
“We scored a few goals that day which gave us confidence. Although we were expected to get through that round against lower-placed opposition it was good just to get that feeling of winning again after such a difficult spell.
“We just need to use all the confidence we’ve gained from the run that followed since that game
GARY CALDWELL