Kusunga delighted to get goal – at right end of pitch

Previously this season, Kusunga had put through his own net on two occasions, against Killie and Hibs, and while he was relieved to finally right those wrongs, he insisted the most important thing was the three points that lifted Dundee off the foot of the Premiership table.

He said: “Sometimes you have to take a risk and I just decided to go and I scored. In training I do it all the time.

“It was nice to score at the right end of the pitch!

“The manager doesn’t like it when I go forward like that but that’s normal.

“We are bottom of the league so I have to do my job as a defender first and foremost. Sometimes I can give something more and I did that against Hearts but my role is as a defender.

“I hope I can score many more goals and we can win many more games but the most important thing was we won the game.”

When asked if he felt the Hearts result would be a turning point in Dundee’s season, Kusunga was not too sure.

But one thing he was certain of was that Dundee cannot let their performance levels fall below the ones they set at Hearts and they have to do it all again against Motherwell at Dens tomorrow.

He added: “Every game is different. That’s why we have to stay focused because Saturday is another game, another team. Football is always different.

“But a result like this helps us believe. We have to believe – we have a lot of games left to play.

“Sometimes when we play against teams who want to play against us it is different. It was like when we played against Rangers. We have to try and play like that in every game.

“But Motherwell is a different team, they play long balls, second balls, and press so it will be completely different.

“But we have to play with the same passion we had against Hearts.

“Our job is to defend and we did that well. We need to keep going now.”

Despite the vital victory at Tynecastle, Dundee’s position in the league remains a precarious one – but Kusunga is convinced that come the end of the season the Dark Blues will still be a Premiership side.

He added: “We just need to concentrate on winning our next game and we will stay in this division, I am sure.”