Evening Telegraph (First Edition)

Bain’s focus is on saving Dark Blues

- BY TOM DUTHIE

SCOTT Bain is not about to apologise to former gaffer Paul Hartley for any part he and his Dundee team-mates played in getting him the sack.

Not yet anyway — but there is not a hint of malice when the goalie says that.

His stance is only based on the need to be completely focused on the immediate future and keeping the Dark Blues in the Premiershi­p.

The 25-year-old does admit he has a lot to thank the man who resurrecte­d his career at Alloa and then gave it another boost by taking him to Dens Park just under three years ago.

Over the next month, though, his intention is to execute Hartley’s final instructio­n to his squad when he left early last week — stay up.

“I can’t speak for other players but I’ve not really thought about the old gaffer to be honest.

“We are second bottom of the league right now and we have five games to put that right.

There is no point in dwelling on what’s happened.

“I appreciate what he did for me and what he did for the club but my full focus on these next five games.

“When he left, the gaffer talked about making sure we keep this club in this league and that’s exactly what we’re planning to do.”

Under Neil McCann there has been little time to think about anything other than what lies ahead.

For just over a week now the Dee squad have been busting a gut as the interim manager has worked on getting them into his way of thinking.

The proof of how good that graft has been will come in the first postsplit game, at Motherwell tomorrow.

But what’s already clear is the new gaffer’s arrival has given everyone a lift. Bain agrees that has been the case and reports a positive mood has returned for the first time since a run of seven straight defeats started.

“When someone new comes in it gives players, who maybe weren’t playing, a new lease of life. It gives boys who have been playing added

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