BALANCE OF POWER
Fontaine can sense the right mix at Dens to get over final hurdle
He has already achieved two promotions to the Premiership.
And Liam Fontaine can sense the same spirit at Dundee that got Hibs and Ross County back ck to the top flight.
The big English defender is going for a hat-trick with the Dens club who are on the cusp of promotion after their 2-1 first-leg play- off victory over Kilmarnock on Thursday night.
And tomorrow they’ l l attempt to get over the line at t Rugby Park.
Fontaine had a key role in n Hibs’ 2017 promotion and with h County two years later.
So he knows how special an n achievement it would be to o repeat the feat at Dens.
The 35-year- old said: “To be successful – like winning the Scottish Cup with Hibs or going up with Ross County – it’s all about the balance of the squad.
“And about the character of people brought in by the gaffer.
“Earl ier in the season, I thought we were a little weak.
“For example, if Killie had scored late on like on Thursday night, we might have crumbled. “But we didn’t. We stuck our chests out and showed a really strong mentality.
“We have a good balance now, good characters and good people, young players and experience. A mix.
“We have one more game, 9 0 mi nut e s hopefully, to seal the deal.
“And we have to go there confident because if we don’t, we’ll start poorly and we can’t afford that. We didn’t need that result to convince us we could compete with Premiership teams.
“We played St Johnstone and Hibs in the cups and proved we could play against them.
“The aim is to be a Premiership team ourselves and to do that you have to be competitive.
“It would be huge for me to get promoted here. The challenge when I came was promotion.
“I want to look back and remember being par t of something good at Dundee.”
With the likes of Fontaine and Charlie Adam, Dundee have players who have been there and done it in their careers.
But it was during a heavy 4-1 cup defeat to Hibs back in
November that the centre-cback sensed a shif t in mentality within the Dark Blues’ squad.
And he has praised boss James McPake for keeping everyone focused on the long-term target.
Fontaine said: “The manager has been brilliant. He’s positive and knows what he wants.
“Even when we were having a little wobble in the league, he put his arm around players who needed it and lifted everyone up.
“Earlier in the season we were getting a lot of stick about not having the mentality to even reach the play-offs. It was harsh.
“But we got our heads down and put ourselves in a position where we had a shot at it.
“I came in around November and we’d lost at Ayr away then against Hibs in the Cup.
“But even though we lost that game, the performance was a bit of a turning point for us. There was more intensity, a bit more fight and desire.
“We now have a lot of threats around the pitch and we’re in a good place.”
Fontaine and his defensive pals managed to nullify Killie’s danger men on Thursday and will need a similar performance at Rugby Park tomorrow night.
Af ter goals from Jordan McGhee and Adam, the visitors pulled one back late on through Brandon Haunstrup.
But Fontaine is confident they can pull it off.
He said: “We need to have the right mindset because the job is far from done.
“But we’ve had good performances recently and feel strong. We’ve got an advantage – albeit a slim one – and it’s now in our hands.”