For Dundee, fabulous February has become miserable March and then anxious April — but striker Henrik Ojamaa says there will be no meltdown at Dens Park come May.
That’s because the Estonian international believes it’s a case of when, not if, the Dark Blues turn things round and stave off the threat of relegation.
Ojamaa and his team-mates head to Hearts on the back of a worrying five-game losing streak.
While he’s not happy about that, with seven games of the season to go, he is adamant Paul Hartley’s team will hit form in time to pull away from the bottom two places in the top flight.
“Right now we are in a bit of a tougher period but, in February, we went very well. The results of the last four weeks or so have been difficult for us, we know that, but we are going to get that good run of results again soon, for sure,” said the man who’s on loan from Dutch outfit Go Ahead Eagles.
“We have shown we can play very well and we have seen the other side when we have some bad results because we don’t perform as good as we can.
“But we have it in us and we definitely have the quality in us. It is just a matter of time before we pick up again.
Ojamaa insists that’s not a case of being in denial but is based on the quality of the Dundee squad and the fact everyone is working hard to bring about the needed improvement.
And he believes the signs the necessary revival is coming were in evidence even in defeat at Ross County on Tuesday night.
The players were gutted to lose to a last-minute penalty they felt shouldn’t have been awarded but, now the dust has settled, they can take positives from the performance.
“It was a tough one under the circumstances, with the decisions going against us — two in the end — and, with a long trip back after that, it was difficult to take.
“Since Tuesday, though, we have responded really well, actually. Nobody is too down about it. Everybody worked very hard, our work rate and application was really good.
“If we’d taken a point it would have been really good. It wasn’t to be but we just have to stick together and keep working hard for each other like we did against Ross County.
“Then we add that extra little bit of quality and we will be fine.”
The Dark Blues head to Hearts with, for once in recent weeks, more attention being paid to the opposition’s trials and tribulations than their own.
A run of just one win in nine games has seen them crash out of the Scottish Cup to capital rivals Hibs and slip down the league table to fourth place, leaving them in danger of not realising their dream of European football next season.
Ojamaa, though, believes it is important Dundee concentrate only on making sure they play well to end their own poor run.
“What’s going on at Hearts? We don’t know that much about it or what it’s like in their camp at the moment. We must just focus on our game to get a good result against them, not what has been happening to them.
“We can do that, I’m sure. I heard about the last game here against them when the boys turned the game round from 2-0 down to win.
“At the end of the day it was three points like any other win. However,games like that give you that little bit extra lift mentality, even though you know it would probably be better to play well throughout the 90 minutes and get an easier win.
“And that game shows the boys have the willingness and attitude to fight when things have gone against them and turn things round.”
This article originally appeared on the Evening Telegraph website. For more information, read about our new combined website.