Dundee captain Gavin Rae is used to chauffeuring Martin Boyle to training each day and now he reckons his team-mate is ready to drive them on to capture the title.
Boyle added further fuel to their promotion push with a brace at Dens Park at the weekend which saw them sweep past lowly Cowdenbeath to assume top spot in the Championship again, at the expense of closest rivals Hamilton.
The 20-year-old attacker, who shares a car with Rae from the Granite City to Dens Park on a daily basis for training, showed perfect timing by hitting the target in either half to put Paul Hartley’s men two points ahead of second-top Accies with just three games left in their quest to be crowned champions.
Former Rangers and Scotland star Rae reckons his fellow Aberdonian can help the Tayside club motor on in their efforts to clinch a return to the top-flight following the dejection of last season’s relegation.
Rae said: “I’m delighted for Martin. We share a car to training every day from Aberdeen.
“The wee man was a bit shy at first but he’s come out his shell now, which is a big thing for any youngster. He’s a good lad and is really enjoying his football just now.
“It’s obviously a good time to hit form with what’s at stake between now and the end of the season.
“Martin just needs to keep things going and hopefully he can keep turning it on like he did here to help us get to where we want to be.”
Boyle’s well-taken second goal on the stroke of half-time put the hosts in a commanding position after teenager Craig Wighton had got them off to a perfect start with a fine fifth-minute opener from Peter MacDonald’s through pass.
The former Montrose man rounded things off with a powerful strike midway through the second-half after midfielder Jim McAlister had nodded home from Nicky Riley’s cross past helpless visiting keeper Sebastian Usai on the hour mark.
It made for a potentially decisive afternoon in the fight for the flag as news filtered through that Accies had dropped points by only drawing 1-1 away to Livingston.
Rae believes finding that elusive confidence streak has made all the difference to his fellow Aberdonian.
Rae said: “Boyley has taken a wee while to get a run in the team. But now he’s getting his chance and he’s getting goals as well to go along with his performances.
“Most players thrive on confidence. Some need it more than most and I think Martin now feels as though he belongs in the team.
“He is tenacious. If he takes a hit, he just gets up and gets on with it.
“I think that is proved by the amount of people who have been booked for fouls on him. Defenders think they are going to get there, but he’s just too quick for them.
“He’s setting up goals as well as scoring them, which is great for the team overall. If you add all that together, it’s brilliant for him.”
Dundee resembled a team intent on closing in on the title, which was inevitably bad news for their relegation-threatened opponents.
They were way too strong for Jimmy Nichol’s basement battlers who suffered their second successive thrashing, losing 5-0 to Falkirk the previous week.
But skipper Rae has warned Hartley’s hopefuls they can’t afford to slow down even in the slightest when they head for Cappielow this weekend to take on Kenny Shiels’ relegated Morton.
Rae said: “It’s a great result. But there’s no point winning this and not winning the rest of our games.
“We’ve got to push forward now. We’re in a position now which is where we want to be.
“We’ve got to win our three remaining games. You can’t ask for much more than that. In saying that, Morton is never an easy place to go.
“It will be a difficult game for sure. OK, they’re down now but that might mean they will play with a bit more freedom.
“However, if we can put on a performance like that then we’ll have a good chance of getting the three points.”
Central Park manager Nicholl believes his second-bottom side can rally from recent set-backs and avoid the agony of the play-offs.
He said: “It was one of those days you want to forget. Our defending let us down but it’s all about moving on.
“We’ve got three massive games left which we have to try to get full points from, and the players know that. We know we can play much better than that, and it’s up to us to show that between now and the end of the season.”