Scott Bain insists that securing all three points in Sunday’s derby at Tannadice means as much to the Dundee players as the ones in the United squad.
The Tangerines are rock bottom of the Premiership with their survival hopes hanging by a thread while the Dark Blues are sitting in relative mid-table safety and it would be understandable if outside observers believed Mixu Paatelainen’s men have the greater incentive to win.
However, goalie Bain, who could not prevent Hearts winning at Dens on Saturday, stresses that Dundee have targets of their own that they are determined to achieve this season with the help of a victory over United.
He said: “We need the points as much as them.
“We definitely do as we need to be top six. That’s the only way we will have a good successful season if we are top six.
“So to beat them on Sunday would be a great step towards that.”
Dundee may have slipped out of the upper half of the table after Motherwell beat United on Friday night but Bain believes his side can bounce back up with fourth place still attainable.
The keeper added: “I think so. It is in our own hands. We have a game in hand over Motherwell and if we win that, we go above them.
“But the league’s so tight, you don’t know how many points it is going to take.
“We just need to try to win as many as possible of these last four games and hopefully that will hold us in good stead.”