Dundee interim boss Neil McCann has revealed that his players happily gave up what should have been their day off this week to undergo extra training.
The 42-year-old made the perfect start to his managerial career last week as the Dark Blues finally ended a run of seven defeats with a morale-boosting 3-2 win at Motherwell.
There is still a lot of work to be done before Dundee’s Premiership safety is assured with another difficult game tomorrow at Kilmarnock.
With that in mind, McCann was keen to work on some new things in training – and the players gladly agreed to forego what would have been their day off to do so.
The manager said: “It’s been another fantastic week in training.
“We got them in on Monday and since then we’ve had them really focused on Kilmarnock. So it’s been an intense week.
“They’ve been in right throughout. I didn’t give them Wednesday off.
“We had them in to do certain things as we approach this game because it’s totally different from Motherwell.
“And the players were very pleased to come in and do the extra day.
“That shows they’re enjoying things.
“I think they’ve had time to enjoy with their families but I think it’s just the necessity of this game on Saturday that we brought them in on Wednesday.
“Not having the day off was not about coming in and being hammered.
“It was an enjoyable session and you can see they’re really getting to grips with what I’m trying to do in terms of how we want to play.”
When asked if the players had bought into what he was trying to do sooner than he expected, McCann said: “It might have happened a wee bit quicker but, to be honest, I just think they’ve been zoned-in from the first day.
“Going back to that Thursday when I had them for the first time, they’ve been in the zone and have taken a great deal of confidence from winning at Motherwell.
“A lot of people might have thought we were under the cosh (at Fir Park) but it’s absolutely how we prepared.
“There was nothing we were surprised about.
“We’ve changed a few things but the message we’ve been trying to get across from within has been pretty constant.
“They are really buying into it.”
While obviously delighted with the Motherwell win, McCann is taking absolutely nothing for granted against a well-organised Lee McCulloch Kilmarnock side who also secured a priceless victory last week against Hamilton.
He added: “We’ve just got to make sure we feed off the confidence of that win at Fir Park because it had been a while since they enjoyed that winning feeling.
“Now we have to try to savour more of it.
“Nobody is going to give you three points. We took three points at Motherwell.
“We’ll be looking to take another three points on Saturday but Kilmarnock won’t hand them to us.
“We’ll need a bit of luck as everyone does but we want another win.
“Having said that, Kilmarnock will have that same mind-set.
“They look very organised under Lee McCulloch. I’ve watched them several times this week so we know their strengths and we’ll respect those.
“Lee has done a great job. Having played at such a high level, Lee has a great structure about them.
“So again it’s a different problem for us to solve and it will be a really difficult game.
“They’ve managed to find results recently and they’re clever.
“They’re not just backs-to-the-wall stuff. They’re clever and know how to win.”
McCann, of course, played at the highest level himself for a variety of clubs including Dundee and Rangers as well as representing his country but he admitted his first taste of being in charge in the dug-out last week brought new challenges.
He added: “It’s different because your job is almost taken out your hands when the boys go onto the field.
“Now I can appreciate the sort of anxiety my managers must have had when I took the pitch!
“But you’ve just got to trust the work you’ve done all week and the guys are charged with the task of carrying it out.
“I was proud of them last week and, of course, we know there are things which we can improve upon.”
