Pressure mounts on ‘pointless’ Dens boss
Neil McCann insisted he didn’t feel pressure before kick-off.
But after St Johnstone inflicted a fourth consecutive defeat on his Dundee side, the response from the stands proved the heat is definitely on. Both sets of fans were at it after a Tony Watt strike sealed all three points for the Perth men. “You’re getting sacked in morning,” sang the gleeful Saints punters. They’re unlikely to be proved correct. But the vocal way Dundee’s fans expressed their disapproval to McCann – who took to the pitch to applaud them at fulltime – suggested their patience is wearing thin. There were boos, of course, but there were plenty of gestures too – and only a smattering of returned applause. That tells the story – there is pressure on the Dundee boss whether he feels it or not. It all started so nicely, too. McCann and Saints boss Tommy Wright were at loggerheads last season after a post-match barney at Dens Park. The rift was not repaired. Yet as the teams took the field yesterday, the two shook hands. Dundee, with Steven Caulker restored to the side, enjoyed the upper hand for the first 20 minutes. But Saints were always a threat, thanks chiefly to Watt, who trained with Dundee in the summer before signing at Saints, and Matty Kennedy. Caulker flashed a header wide from a corner with just seven minutes on the clock to get the visiting fans’ hearts pounding. Then Watt forced a save from Dundee keeper Jack Hamilton, who had to look sharp to stop the Saints striker’s curling effort. A central midfielder is top of Perth gaffer Tommy Wright’s shopping list – and his need became even more pressing when Murray Davidson limped off. With Saints forced to rejig, Dundee took control, dominating possession and playing in neat patterns from flank to flank. However, the home side almost took the lead against the run of play when Watt collected Kennedy’s short corner, bulldozed his way past Paul McGowan, and flashed a low ball across the face of goal. Kharl Madianga rifled an effort just over the bar from distance as Dundee pressed, then Adil Nabi drew a super stop from Zander Clark with another long-range effort. It was all Dundee, but the game quickly turned on its head. Suddenly Saints, chasing shadows for much of the first half-hour, were on the front foot, and their powerful attacking play down the flanks earned them four golden chances to score before the interval. David McMillan fired just over, Kennedy rolled a far post effort wide and saw a smart volley stopped by Hamilton, and Watt almost notched an audacious near post rocket, which Hamilton did well to stop. It was breathless stuff, with Dundee’s Ben Kallman also rolling an effort wide of the post. That such a game could reach the interval goalless was mindboggling. That the stalemate was broken by Watt was unsurprising. The former Celtic kid has been on fire since arriving at McDiarmid and he bagged his sixth goal in eight games with a terrific, slotted finish after beating the offside trap and holding off Caulker. Dundee needed a response, but there was precious little urgency about their performance after falling behind. Dundee did have a glorious chance to level the game with two minutes to go when Sofien Moussa saw a point-blank header saved by Clark. But there was no way back for the Dark Blues who remain without a point.