Dundee’s James McPake has been left frustrated by the rollercoaster nature of the Dark Blues’ season so far.
The big centre-half should return to the team for this afternoon’s match against Hearts at Tynecastle after recovering from a groin strain.
While delighted to be back, the 31-year-old is hoping his return will also coincide with the team cutting out the defensive errors which he feels have undermined the campaign so far.
When asked to sum up the season to date, McPake said: “It has been three words: positives and negatives.
“We have been disappointed in certain games to have come away with nothing or not to have taken all three points.
“We have been a bit inconsistent and maybe only playing for a half or the last 20 minutes.
“Other games we have been great but we haven’t put teams to bed.
“The positive we take from that is that we have shown we can play and we can match the best teams at times.”
He said they need to cut out “the sloppiness where we haven’t defended well, not just individually but as a team”.
He added: “We haven’t been doing that side of the game well enough.
“We have created enough chances and scored plenty of goals but we need to get the other end fixed.
“We’ve let too many crosses into our box, and when they have come in the centre-backs or full-backs haven’t cleared them or the midfielders haven’t picked up the second ball or tracked runners.
“We can’t just blame one certain area. It is down to the whole team and we have been working on it.
“It is frustrating when you go into each game saying this is going to be the performance when we will be solid and tight.
“It eats away at you, and the quicker we can get it sorted the better it will be for the whole team.”
McPake said Dundee’s first encounter with Hearts in August at Dens summed up the season so far, with the Dark Blues dominating the first half only to lose after falling away in the second 45.
He said: “We could have been a few goals ahead, but then we ended up losing our lead and the game 2-1.
“That is a good example of our season, but also something we have been working on and we are looking to do better on.
“We need to be better on the dirty side. I am not talking about bad tackles but more knowing when to clear the ball or to do the bad side, which nobody likes doing but all the top teams produce.”
Meanwhile, McPake’s boss Paul Hartley said he is relishing going back to the ground where he played for four seasons.
He said: “This will be my first time back at Tynecastle as a manager and that’s something I’m looking forward to.
“Going there is always great because it’s a sell-out and you always get a fantastic atmosphere.
“It’s intimidating, very intimidating, actually. The atmosphere there can be special.
“Hearts are always a strong team at home because the crowd is right on top of you and the pitch is very tight.
“When you go there you have to silence the home fans and try to get a foothold in the game.
“It takes mental toughness to go to places like Tynecastle and handle it,” he added.
“You have to be strong enough to implement your game plan on Hearts when they’re at home.
“What you want is a squad of players who can go there and enjoy it, and I think our players can do that.”