Dundee ‘can’t rely on luck’ in unlikely battle for survival

It’s up to Dundee to get themselves out of relegation trouble, relying on a bit of luck won’t help them.

That’s the message from manager Mark Mcghee as he plots a route off the foot of the table.

The odds are against the Dark Blues overcoming a five-point deficit to the Perth Saints with only nine left to play for. But there’s no giving up at Dens Park as they prepare to face St Mirren on Saturday.

Dundee put on a decent performance last weekend at Aberdeen, only to rue missed chances and then fall foul of a penalty call as Jonny Hayes went down in the area.

Willie Collum’s decision was disputed but Mcghee insists his side can’t rely on getting the rub of the green from officials this weekend.

Asked if Dundee could do with a bit more luck with refereeing decisions, the Dens boss replied: “What is luck? Where preparation meets opportunity, that’s what they say. For me, we have to imagine we won’t get any luck so we have to earn everything we get.

“If at some point we get a penalty kick then fair enough, but you can’t rely on luck.

“I couldn’t really argue with the penalty decision against Aberdeen because there was a bit of clumsiness there.

“Aberdeen would have been beeling if it wasn’t given and so would we if it was the other way round.

“I don’t think we can worry about things like that. It ultimately cost us the game but missing chances cost us it more.”

Improving on that part of the game is the way Dundee can get out of trouble says Mcghee.

The Dens boss is happy with the general play from his team but knows they have no chance of breaking their winless run without some smart finishing.

Their recent run of draws saw five goals scored in three matches and that gives Mcghee belief his side can still upset the odds.

“We just need to get that goal. Goals change games,” he added.

“We have people in the team who we know can score goals, we need to make sure there are goals in the team.

“I am a great believer that players who score goals, score goals. Players who don’t, don’t.

“So if you have a team full of people with no goalscoring record they aren’t going to suddenly score three.

“We need people in the team who can get a goal so that’s something we are trying to accommodate.”

Meanwhile, long-time physio Gerry Docherty has left the club after sixand-a-half years at Dens Park. He will be in the opposite dugout this weekend, having joined St Mirren.

Head of sports science Gary Mccoll is also heading to the Paisley club after a short time with the Dark Blues.

Former Dundee and Celtic star Leigh Griffiths has been released by Falkirk after less than three months at the club.

The 31-year-old left Dens Park in January following a disappointing return to his old club.

After signing in August, fitness issues dogged the on-loan striker and he struggled to reach anywhere near the heights of his first spell at the club between 2009 and 2011.

Griffiths joined the League One Bairns following a drawn-out wrangle between the Dark Blues and parent club Celtic after Dundee ended his loan stint early.

But the move to Falkirk hasn’t worked out either with Griffiths scoring twice in 11 appearances.

Mark Mcghee.