McCann seeks response to blast

‘Sheepish’ Dark Blues urged to put things right with improved performance against basement rivals

Dundee boss Neil McCann is looking for his “sheepish” players to right a lot of wrongs against Partick Thistle at Dens today.

The raging manager ripped into his squad following Tuesday night’s defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle, labelling their performance a joke.

McCann has certainly not changed his opinion regarding that brutal assessment and he is determined there will be a big response against bottom-of-the-table Jags who will arrive at Dens knowing they will leapfrog the Dark Blues if they can win.

McCann said: “We have had our say and I think I have made it very clear where I stand. I want them to put it right against Partick.

“We have not had a lot of time to train because they need to recover and the weather hasn’t helped us.

“But we have done what we need to do in terms of our shape and things.

“The players have maybe been a bit quiet and sheepish because they know what I expect and what the club expects.

“They know they have to come out and make up for it. I have told them I expect better and they agree. We have a lot of wrongs from Tuesday night to put right and that’s what we will try to do.”

Before the Hearts match, Dundee’s last away fixture against Ross County in Dingwall resulted in a win for the Dark Blues.

Having set the benchmark high with that victory, the manager was doubly disappointed his players fell so far from that standard when they faced the Jambos.

He said: “When you raise the bar, you can’t expect to drop it and think that’s all right. We are trying to move things on and I believe we did that. We found a level of consistency in terms of performance, drive and tempo.

“But that (Hearts) was miles off it. You set the bar, then that is the minimum and when you fall below it, it is unacceptable.

“And as I said, the fans who travelled down deserved better than that.”

McCann and his assistant Graham Gartland took in Partick’s game against Motherwell on Wednesday night with the Jags racing into a 3-0 lead only to suffer a jittery second half as the Steelmen pulled two goals back.

The Dundee boss said: “It was a real good three points for them.

“They had a great first-half performance but then Motherwell turned it around and put them on the back foot.

“At 3-0 at half-time, you are thinking it is all over but Motherwell made it a real match. It just proves how close this league is and how finely balanced things can be.

“If you step one side of your performance, you can come a cropper.”

Roarie Deacon and Jack Hendry had to come off injured at Tynecastle with McCann adding: “Roarie is still struggling. We have to be a wee bit cautious with him so he might not make tomorrow. We are in a bit of limbo with him as we are not sure if it is a wee strain or a knock.

“Jack Hendry is fine, though and has trained.”

Meanwhile Thistle’s roller-coaster season saw defender Paul McGinn lose and rediscover his love for football – all in the space of five days.

A 5-1 drubbing by Kilmarnock last Saturday set alarm bells ringing among the worried Jags faithful and left McGinn

wanting to shut out the world.

They then faced the prospect of being cut even further adrift as they took on in-form Motherwell on Wednesday.

However, a 3-2 triumph over Stephen Robinson’s men ended a four-game winless run and also provided a much-needed spark for McGinn.

He said: “If we can get the win this weekend we’ll be off the bottom, and that just shows you how quickly football can change.

“Last Saturday I locked myself away in a dark room thinking I hate football and didn’t want to see it ever again. I didn’t want to watch Match of the Day or even think about football.

“But by half-time against Motherwell I was right back in love with the game. Just that feeling of a win and being back in amongst the pack was great.”

Thistle have endured a testing campaign with a horrendous injury list limiting manager Alan Archibald’s options, and McGinn accepts coping with the ups and downs of a relegation fight has been a mental challenge in itself.

“The difference in feeling you get between winning and losing is huge, and you end up completely craving the one you get after a victory,” he said.

“It becomes an obsession.”

SNS. Dundee boss Neil McCann ripped into his players after defeat at Tynecastle during the week – and now is seeking a response to his verbal volley today against Partick.