Jim McAlister says Dundee have to stop giving their opponent a head start if they want to start climbing the SPL table.
McAlister was speaking after the Dark Blues slumped to their seventh defeat of the campaign at Easter Road, with goals from Eoin Doyle, a Leigh Griffiths penalty and David Wotherspoon earning Hibs a convincing home win in the end.
The 26-year-old, who saw a shot brilliantly saved midway through the first half at 1-0, was involved in the incident which led to Hibs’ spot kick and crucial second goal, but McAlister reckons it is just another example of Dundee’s unfortunate habit of shooting themselves in the foot.
He said: ”I think results will turn for us but it’s the goals we are losing that are absolutely killing us just now. It’s hard to take and it’s been the story of every game.
”We’ve been in every game I wouldn’t say we were comfortable in games but we could have been a goal up and then bang, we lose one and we never seem to be able to get back into things after that.
”It seems just now we need to score first. When we went to Hearts and scored first they never looked like breaking us down.
”Just now, when we go a goal down we seem like we can’t get back into it but it’s just a learning curve for us.
”With the exception of the St Johnstone game, we’ve had spells in games where we could have been two or three up, and there’s the likes of the Motherwell game where we were leading with 15 minutes to go and got nothing. But that’s just part and parcel of stepping up to this level and we’re getting punished.
”When you speak to any player that comes out of the First Division and goes up to the SPL, you make the odd mistake in Division One and the other team might pass up the opportunity. Nine times out of 10 if it happens at this level the ball’s in the back of the net.”
McAlister felt his side were unlucky with the penalty decision but believes the ball should never have been allowed to get into the danger area in the first place.
He continued: ”I’d like to see it again because I felt I got my body across the front of him and he’s actually kicked the back of my leg and that’s caused both of us to fall.
”But it’s all part of the learning curve for us stepping up at this level because If we clear it 40 yards up the park and get squeezed up as a team maybe we don’t concede the goal. That’s not putting the blame on anyone because you win as a team and lose as a team.
”The positive thing to take out of it is that’s we’re not really detached at the bottom. A few weeks ago St Johnstone were there and what a difference three weeks makes for them.
”We’ve got a wee break now to maybe get away from the place for two or three days and then we can come back and work hard again in training.”
Dundee boss Barry Smith was yet again forced to rue the mistakes which cost his side dearly.
He said: ”I think we started the game OK, probably had the best two chances in the first half but we go in 1-0 down and that’s been the story so far this season.
”Individual errors lead to collective errors and they are killing us at this moment in time that’s the one thing we need to rectify.”