Dundee boss Barry Smith has paid tribute to Nicky Riley after the winger bravely left his sick bed to play against Falkirk on Saturday.
The former Celtic player had a bad chest infection all last week but was determined not to let his team-mates down as Dundee battle to beat the drop after their 25-point deduction by the SFL.
He more than did his bit as the tiring Dark Blues held on to secure a vital 1-0 victory over the Bairns, which takes them to just one point behind second-bottom Stirling Albion.
“I cannot speak highly enough of Nicky,” said Smith.
“He had not been well all last week so it was remarkable in itself he made the Falkirk game.
“So for him to go out and play the way he did having been laid low with a chest infection shows how much the boys are up for the fight.
“Not only that, but he put in a solid shift, up and down the park, even though he was obviously tired.
“He has actually not trained again because he is still feeling the effects of what he had, but the rest should do him good.”
That victory over Falkirk extended Dundee’s unbeaten run to 12 games but Smith insists nobody at Dens will be taking anything for granted when they travel to face Cowdenbeath at the weekend.
“Our focus is solely on getting another three points on Saturday,” he added. “We are not looking any further than the game at Central Park and I have already been stressing to the boys that it’s a very difficult match.
“They will be fighting for points as well but there are no easy games in the first division.
“The fans are right behind us. They appreciate what we are trying to do and I don’t think anyone actually heard the final whistle on Saturday because of the noise the supporters were making.”
Meanwhile, Dundee star striker Leigh Griffiths’ £150,000 move to Wolves is still to be finalised.
Griffiths stayed behind at the final whistle against Falkirk to wave an emotional farewell to the home fans but he has yet to put pen to paper.