Hartley must turn things round, and quick, or Dundee are in deep bother CALUM CROWE

HOW curious it should be that words which were spoken in the aftermath of Dundee’s most emphatic victory this season are now screaming at them like some sort of sadistic prophecy.

When Paul Hartley took his seat in the Fir Park media room on February 25, he looked remarkably composed for a man who had just watched his team register a thumping 5-1 victory away from home. Then it happened.

Hartley’s side were sitting pretty in the top six and he was duly asked about their chances of staying there.

It was the kind of question which managers typically play with a straight bat. But, on this occasion, Hartley gave a far better answer than the question deserved. ‘We are under no illusions. We have got to still look over our shoulders because there aren’t many points separating sixth and 12th,’ he deadpanned.

It seemed bizarre at the time, with Dundee being a meaty nine points clear of bottom place. More than that, they had also beaten Rangers the previous week and Hartley would later be named Manager of the Month for February.

Oh, how different the picture now looks. They have lost every single game since that day in Motherwell; seven consecutive defeats seeing them plummet into the relegation play-off spot. The worry for Hartley is obvious. Hamilton travelled to Dens Park on Saturday without an away win in almost a year. They are also the lowest scorers across all four divisions of Scottish football. Only wastefulness from Accies prevented the scoreline here from being more emphatic than 2-0.

In times like these, managers desperately cling to some kind of positive. But, in this instance, there weren’t any for Hartley.

Okay, Cammy Kerr looked solid in the unfamiliar position of left wing-back. Tom Hateley put in some decent crosses from the right, although was a total liability in defence and was directly at fault for Hamilton’s opening goal.

But that was pretty much it. There wasn’t anything else to write home about from a Dundee point of view. They actually ended up playing like the away team; dropping deeper and deeper, scared to take possession, cripplingly short of confidence in every department.

When he spoke after the match, Hartley admitted that he is running out of ideas. He gave the impression of a man who accepts this current group of players patently are not good enough and, given that he signed them, he must shoulder some of the blame for that.

He will also realise that his continual chopping and changing between formations has contributed to a squad who just look lost. Pep Guardiola can get away with endless tweaking but, to his Sergio Aguero and Leroy Sane, Hartley has only a Marcus Haber and a James Vincent.

Yet, that does not mean he is a bad manager. He has made some mistakes with recruitment, but the players are still behind their manager.

There will be a clear-out at Dens in the summer, but Hartley must try to coax some kind of tune out of this current group over the remaining five games.

If they fail to do that? Well, the prospect of a play-off final against Dundee United would come sharply into focus.

‘This is not the manager’s fault at all,’ said Kerr, who will be suspended for Dundee’s next match — away to Motherwell on April 29. ‘He demands high standards and trusts the players.

‘We owe him a result. He puts his faith in us, so we need to go out and repay that. Going into this game, training was actually the best it’s ever been — really positive.

‘The fans are entitled to voice their opinions, but the best thing they can do is get behind us. We all want the same thing — to stay up. Results haven’t been good enough, but we need everyone on the same side and working towards the same goal.

‘It’s extremely disappointing — knowing going into the game how big it was and coming away with nothing. But there are still five massive games left in our season.’

Alex D’Acol buried a penalty to give Hamilton the lead on 23 minutes, after Hateley had clumsily fouled Dougie Imrie. Skipper Mikey Devlin then sealed the three points for Accies with a header in the 84th minute.

Martin Canning’s side have struck a tidy run of form at just the right time. Accies are now undefeated in four, having kept clean sheets in three of those four matches.

‘We are not out of trouble yet,’ insisted Devlin. ‘We are on a great run and high on confidence, but it’s important we stay focused.

‘We haven’t won back-to-back games all season, so for me to say we are going to do x, y or z over the final few games would be ridiculous. We need to treat each game in isolation like a final.’

The Hamilton fans even indulged in some ‘oles’ in the final couple of minutes. For Dundee, it was more a case of ‘Oh Dear’.