Steven Pressley reminded Dundee of derby loss criticism to inspire St Mirren win
Last updated 10 hours ago
Dundee boss Steven Pressley admitted he used last week’s derby defeat criticism to fire his players up against St Mirren.
The Dark Blues bounced back from the 3-0 loss at Tannadice to beat the Buddies 1-0 at Dens Park thanks to a solitary Joe Westley goal.
The win moved Dundee six points clear of St Mirren with just three games of the regular season remaining, with the Paisley side slipping down into the relegation play-off spot.
And Pressley revealed he had waited until just before kick-off to remind his team what had been said after the dismal derby defeat.
The former Scotland defender said: “I thought they did only what they know and that’s to respond to criticism and disappointment. They have done it time and time again this season.
“There were a lot of accusations made about our performance last week and there’s only one way to respond. Words don’t have an effect, you have to do it out there with a performance.
“I used it today prior to the game. I reminded them of some of the criticism.
“I didn’t do it during the week, I didn’t want to bring that to our training because I wanted us focused and calm before turning the heat up today.
“I have been very vocal around it. We have had to endure a lot of difficult moments and a lot of doubt.”
Interim St Mirren boss Craig McLeish felt his team’s fatal flaw in front of goal had been exposed once again.
However, he insisted the Buddies’ destiny is still in their own hands with a crunch clash with Kilmarnock looming large next week.
He said: “It’s a sore result and the performance probably doesn’t reflect it because we were bright and positive, especially in the second half.
“But it kind of summed up our season, we don’t score enough goals and are not clinical enough in the final third.
“That’s been the story of the whole year and is why we’re in the position we’re in.
“We’re not down there because teams are miles ahead of us, we are where we are because we don’t score enough.
“I think the top scorer is on four or five, so we have to carry that load throughout the team.
“It’s been a problem all season but it’s my problem now, so it’s not to hide behind it and use it as an excuse saying it was here before I was.
“I need to fix it, we need to find ways to do more in the final third.
“Teams aren’t cutting us open and causing us problems, we are causing our own problems.
“Next week was always going to be a massive game against Kilmarnock. It’s still in our own hands and we control our own destiny.
“We have to put today to bed, plan throughout the week for next Saturday.”
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