Consistent performances on Paul Hartley’s Dundee wish-list

You have to go back to February to find the last time Dundee strung together back-to-back victories. That may be a depressing stat, but at the moment many at Dens Park will take just a solitary win.

Their run of four games without success may have continued on Saturday, but for the man in charge there is reason to be optimistic.

Performances have been stop-start for Paul Hartley’s men this term, but following a solid performance against Partick Thistle last weekend, it’s simply a case of maintaining some consistency to climb up the Ladbrokes Premiership.

“I think that’s what all the teams in the league are striving for,” he told the Evening Times.

“That’s what can make all the difference because the league is so tight at the best of times.

“It’s a bit frustrating when you don’t get the three points but the important thing was the lads played right to the end in this game.”

The former Alloa boss isn’t wrong in that case, with four points all that separates fifth-placed Ross County from Motherwell in tenth.

Throw in that the teams in from ninth to eleventh have each picked up more points than County, Hamilton (sixth) and Dundee (seventh) in their previous four matches and things could get even tighter.

The Dees have three points from their last quartet of games and for Kane Hemmings, who bagged the late equaliser against the Jags last time out that can easily change.

“We maybe should have picked up more points over the last few weeks but we are still going OK,” he told The Courier.

“Anybody can beat anyone but we are right in the mix.”

‘The mix’ being the race for a top-six finish this term, and with the Dark Blues just shy of the upper half of the table, it is perhaps unsurprising that they are a shade of odds-on to miss out at 8/11.

While Hemmings will have been pleased to have got back in the scoring groove with a first goal since August, it’s their defensive problems that Dundee need to address.

Hartley’s side have kept just two clean sheets in all competitions in their last 26 fixtures, with only Kilmarnock and neighbours Dundee United conceding more Premiership goals this season.

A big test of how much they can push on will come after the international break when they visit a Hearts side that have bagged two or more goals in their last three games.

Get something against the Jambos and Hartley and Dundee fans will be confident of pushing up the table.

You can see the goals from Dundee’s 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle below…

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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