Dundee have five matches left to save their Premiership skins.
Five matches in which to shrug off a wretched season to date and start putting much-needed points on the board.
They have five points to make up on St Johnstone.
It’s likely to require more than just five, however – they can’t expect the Perth Saints to go through all their fixtures picking up no points at all.
Already Dundee have picked up 15 of their 25 points against the teams they will face in the final five matches.
Three of their five league wins came against St Johnstone, Aberdeen and St Mirren.
So there is some hope.
That’s this season – but what do previous seasons tell us about Dundee after the split?
Best
In their 11 seasons in the top flight since the split was implemented in 2000/01, Dundee have had a good record overall of picking up points.
Their best tally came back in 2003/04 with Jim Duffy in charge for the second time, taking 12 points from 15.
Nacho Novo, Steven Milne and Steve Lovell were the men firing in the goals as the Dee finished top of the bottom half.
That is their only double-figure haul. Neil McCann led them to nine points from 15 in 2017/18 as Dundee moved away from danger, kicking off with a 2-1 win over St Johnstone at home.
This current side may not have Sofien Moussa to get a double this time but Dees will hope that is an omen for Saturday’s clash.
Seven points were picked up on four occasions, all in the bottom half.
One of those came in the ‘Club 12’ season where despite their troubles all season, the Dark Blues rallied late on to beat St Mirren and Hearts.
Worst
Dundee’s worst post-split showing actually came in their best season since 2001.
Paul Hartley’s men grabbed a place in the top half in 2015 but their finish to the campaign after securing top six isn’t one for the history books.
Just one point picked up and only one goal scored, Luka Tankulic the man on target against Aberdeen.
There have been a couple of seasons where only two points were picked up in the final five matches.
Their last campaign in top flight, though, saw three points picked up thanks to a win over Livingston.
That ended a run of 10 straight defeats for Jim McIntyre. It was also his last match in charge.
Better than that is an absolute must.
Average
Dundee’s average points tally after the split is 5.72 across all seasons. In the bottom half, it is 6.2.
That could be enough but only if St Johnstone lose every single game between now and the end of the season.
The bad news is St Johnstone have historically been better in post-split clashes than the Dark Blues.
That’s despite six of their 14 seasons ending in the top half, playing better opposition.
Last season, Callum Davidson led them to a five-point haul in the top six.
Only twice have the Perth side registered less than five points in the final five matches – in 2011/12 they lost all five after registering their first top six finish of the century.
The other occasion saw two points picked up and relegation back to the second tier.
That’s the only kind of return that will give Dundee a glimmer of hope and potentially see the Saints fall through the relegation trapdoor once more.
For the Dark Blues, they’ll have to top their historical average to have any chance.
The history books say it will be a tall ask. But they will also tell you to expect the unexpected in football – especially when Dundee are involved.
