McCann says style of play winning respect

Neil McCann is convinced Dundee are winning the respect of their opponents – if not games of football.

The Dark Blues arrested a run of five straight defeats with a goalless draw at home to Kilmarnock at the weekend.

It was the Dens Park side’s first clean sheet of the season in the league and their first positive result since beating Hearts 2-1 on September 30.

Despite a frustrating sequence, McCann believes the passing style he is trying to instil in his team is being appreciated by opposition managers and winning over the Dundee support.

He said: “I think football fans, in general, are quite intelligent and they can see how something’s panning out and what a team’s trying to do.

“Kilmarnock could have come to us and looked at Dundee, bottom of the league, and thought ‘we’ll just go and press them and try to run over the top of them’.

“I think they gave us a lot of respect.

“And I think the style of football we’re trying to play here is getting respect within the league – if you come and press us, we’ll get through you.

“So, they sat off us, and it was pleasing to move the ball and keep the ball.”

He added: “But I still want more penetration. We had lots of crosses into the box and I’m disappointed we didn’t take one of those chances.”