Dundee need a re-run of their opening salvo against St Johnstone this weekend at Aberdeen, says boss Mark McGhee.
The Dark Blues raced into a 1-0 lead courtesy of Jordan Marshall’s 10th-minute strike, immediately putting pressure on the Perth side.
They couldn’t hold on to their lead, however, as Shaun Rooney headed in for 1-1 in the second half, denying Dundee a crucial three points.
That dented the survival chances of McGhee’s men but victory this weekend at Pittodrie could revive those hopes.
Aberdeen, meanwhile, are not in a good place themselves, having won just one league match since last facing Dundee, on Boxing Day.
Since Jim Goodwin took over, the Dons have picked up just five points from an available 21 and suffered back-to-back home defeats against Ross County and Livingston.
‘Pressure’
Having spent more than six years as a player and then manager at Aberdeen, McGhee knows all about the pressure that can come from the stands at Pittodrie.
And he hopes his side can ramp that up with another fast start.
“Watching the Aberdeen v Livingston game back, there is pressure from the crowd up there,” said Dundee gaffer McGhee.
“They do make it difficult for their team, so if we can harness that then great.
“But we can’t rely on that. We have to imagine every team is at their best.
“I hope Aberdeen are not and they don’t seem to be, but we can’t rely on them – we have to go up there and do enough ourselves to win the game.
“If we win it will be because we have won it on our own merits rather than they’re getting pressure from their supporters.
“That means we need to find more than we have in the last three games, we need to step it up to turn those draws into wins.
‘Start on fire’
“We will have to start the way we did against St Johnstone, getting off to a good start in games is so important.
“If you start well then you give yourself a chance, but if you don’t then it’s very difficult to bring yourself up to a level.
“I was very pleased with the way we started against St Johnstone but we need to sustain that for longer.
“That game showed that when you get a goal up you need a second one.
“We have to be ready to start on fire at Pittodrie.”
