Iain Davidson is determined to help Dundee go unbeaten at home in the league for the whole season.
The Dark Blues went down to Raith Rovers in the William Hill Scottish Cup the last time they played at Dens but they have yet to lose a Championship game at their own place.
Davidson wants to make up for that cup defeat by not losing again at their own stadium between now and May.
Dundee, who welcome Cowdenbeath today, have taken pride of place at the top of the table thanks to their away victory over Morton last weekend.
And the central defender believes defiance and doggedness at Dens will help them stay there.
“That has to be our target,” said Davidson. “We lost in the Scottish Cup to Raith Rovers recently, which was a bitter pill to swallow. Now we want to make up for that and get back to winning ways at home at the first opportunity.
“You need to have standards and targets in football and we are aiming high. Dens is a bit of a fortress just now in the league and we are looking to carry that on.
“We have to aim to become undefeated at home in the league for the whole season. It is a big ask but if we can do that then it could be a significant factor as regards where we end up come the end of the season.
“We know where we want to be and by being strong at home it can hopefully help us achieve our target. The manner in which we lost at home to Raith in the cup still irks us a bit but this is the ideal chance to bury that memory.”
Davidson revealed he has been well warned of the threat Cowden may pose this afternoon thanks to a chat he had with his former Raith Rovers boss John McGlynn, whose Livingston team narrowly beat the Fifers last weekend.
He said: “I spoke to John McGlynn earlier this week. We had a good blether and he was telling me how tough a match it was against Cowdenbeath.
“He said his Livingston side were fortunate to get the 3-2 win. John remarked on their spirit and their willingness to fight for one another. We expect them to come here to fight and scratch for everything.”
Davidson is a fan of new Cowden boss Jimmy Nicholl and expects the ex-Northern Ireland international to have his relegation battlers fired up.
He said: “I know Jimmy Nicholl from his time at Raith. He was obviously a big figure there and I always speak to him whenever I see him. I am sure he will do a good job in the long run for Cowdenbeath but we hope that doesn’t include this game.”
Nicholl, meanwhile, admitted that taking points away from Dens is a tough task for any club.
“Dundee have got good experienced players and that’s the difference between them and us,” he said.
“You look at Gavin Rae, Matt Lockwood, Gary Irvine, Iain Davidson these guys are all experienced players and they know what it takes to get out of this division.
“It doesn’t matter who we are playing, we’ve got to try and look to take something out of each and every game between now and the end of the season.
“Dundee are flying at the moment and Bomber (manager John Brown) has done a great job there, along with Ray Farningham. “They are up there at the top of the league on merit.”