Dundee’s Sean Higgins admits he owes a big debt to his team-mates after he picked up a red card following what he described as a “moment of madness.”
The striker was booked early on at East End Park against Dunfermline two weeks ago and was then shown another yellow barely a minute into the second half.
The match took place a day after Dundee learned the 25-point deduction imposed by the SFL for entering administration had been confirmed, and the 10 men in Dark Blue left on the pitch produced a defiant backs-to-the-wall performance to hang on to secure a 0-0 draw.
Now Higgins is determined to make amends for his dismissal and subsequent two-match suspension.
“I was really disappointed to let the boys down by getting sent off,” he said. “I feel I really owe them now. It was stupid as I went in for a sliding tackle at the second booking despite the fact the referee had told me before it that if I committed one more foul I would be off.
“There was no excuse for going in for the tackle it was just a moment of madness. It did not help that my first booking in the game came after just 86 seconds.
“I was a wee bit late, but I thought the yellow was harsh, then they were trying to get me sent off later in the half for a tackle which was just a block type of thing.
“I knew I was up against it and the gaffer warned me at half-time just to watch my tackles. Obviously, I still ended up being sent off, so I was relieved that the boys managed to hold on and then did well again beating Falkirk on Saturday.
“We cannot afford to lose players to red cards, especially attackers as wee Sparky (Leigh Griffiths) is away to Wolves.
“There is a fine line between being aggressive and avoiding getting booked.”
Despite Dundee being down to the bare bones in terms of player numbers, Higgins confessed that he does not expect to walk straight back into the team when they travel to face Cowdenbeath on Saturday.
“We do not have a big squad so the lads are playing a lot of 90-minute matches,” he said. “However, I will not be taking my place in the team to play Cowdenbeath for granted as young Leighton McIntosh has come on in the last couple of games and done well.”