Hartley is upbeat as Dundee hit rock bottom

DUNDEE manager Paul Hartley last night insisted he will not press the panic button — despite watching his team slump to the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership.

Hartley’s side have not won since the opening day of the season and yesterday’s 2-0 defeat by Hearts at Tynecastle now leaves them bottom of the pile, albeit on goal difference.

Dundee hit the woodwork four times in a frustrating afternoon in Edinburgh and Hartley (below) believes it is only a matter of time before they turn the corner.

‘It was a terrific performance from us,’ he said. ‘Hearts are a very good side but we came here and caused them a lot of problems.

‘The amount of chances we created and the amount of times we hit the woodwork shows that we are doing a lot of things right. We just need to be more clinical.

‘I couldn’t fault my players. There were no failures among them. They competed really well and created chances, which is something we have struggled with recently.

‘We don’t want to be bottom of the table but I fully believe that we will turn it around if we keep plugging away. We are not far away from getting results.

‘The margins are so fine. We’ve played every bit as well as Hearts for long periods. They go up the pitch, get a free-kick and score from it.

‘There certainly won’t be any kind of panic from us. Anyone who has seen some of our recent games will know we’re on the verge of a result.

‘The lads are still bright in training. Their attitude is positive and they are a great bunch to work with. I believe that we can turn it around.’