Dark Blues good to go after shaking off winter rust

Paul McGowan insists Dundee have now shaken off the rustiness they showed against Inverness on Saturday and are ready to sparkle once more when they face Hibs tonight.

The Dark Blues struggled to get going again after their three-week winter lay-off when they faced John Robertson’s Highland outfit in the Scottish Cup at Dens.

Neil McCann’s men ultimately secured a draw and a replay but McGowan is adamant the home fans will see the real Dundee once again as they return to league action for the first time since beating St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park on December 30.

The midfielder said: “We need to be in Hibs’ faces on the night – that’s the key thing.

“We’ve worked on a gameplan. The manager has come up with one and if we go and execute that, we’ve got a massive chance of getting a positive result.

“The last game we had with Hibs at Dens we drew with them and then the game at Easter Road after that, I felt we were the better side.

“The plus point is we’re over the break now. We were in a groove and a run of form before so it came at the wrong time for us.

“To try and get going again is difficult. We didn’t have the opportunity of a game within that three-week spell, plus other teams are still in their season.

“We weren’t quite at it and we lacked game-sharpness.”

While Dundee are still in the Scottish Cup, Hibs exited the competition on Sunday losing out at the home of their Edinburgh rivals Hearts.

McGowan knows how much that defeat will have hurt Hibees boss Neil Lennon and he has warned his team-mates to expect a big backlash tonight.

The 30-year-old added: “I know Neil Lennon and the way he is.

“He’s been my manager at under-21 level for Celtic so I know full well what he’s like.

“He’ll never settle for anything less than 100%.

“He’s just passionate, exactly the same as he was as a player.”

Paul McGowan says Dark Blues need to be in Hibs’ faces.