Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
No point in victory if Dee can’t keep it up
IT was great to see both Dundee and Dundee United record league wins on the same day for the first time this season.
The Dark Blues, who were on a horrible run, managed to get a victory on Saturday by fighting for every ball and narrow the gap at the bottom of the league to one point.
Hamilton is never an easy place to go on their plastic pitch but it was important for Paul Hartley’s men to go there and get a result.
It was never going to be pretty either but I’m sure the fans who travelled will have enjoyed the journey home having picked up the three points.
The players showed their mettle against Accies but there is no point in doing it in that game if they can’t show the same bite at home against Motherwell this weekend.
They have set a standard for the manager after Saturday and if they give him the same effort and determination then a win is possible.
It won’t always win the game but at least it shows the players do care and that was evident at the weekend.
United, meanwhile, are on a good run at the moment and showed how far they have come since the defeat to Falkirk earlier on in the season.
They have had to grind out results recently but that is how the Championship works.
There are no easy games and, as I said previously about Hibs, no one has the right in that league to just turn up and win.
The Tangerines are being made to work hard for every point at the moment but the fact they are still getting results will be more pleasing to manager Ray McKinnon than anything else.
I’m sure he would love to win games four and five nil but with the way teams set up against his side, especially at Tannadice, this will rarely be the final outcome.
It is a tough division to get out of and you only have to look at Hibs to see how difficult it is.
The key to getting out of the league is consistency and being able to win when not playing at your best — something United are doing at the moment and will want to keep on doing for the rest of the season.
The two sides will be looking for wins again this weekend and I think both will have to grind out a result in what are difficult games.