Tony Docherty has challenged his Dundee side to “attack” their league campaign like they did the League Cup group stage.
That’s after sealing a fourth win from four with 18 goals scored and just two conceded.
The 6-0 win over League One Inverness saw the Dark Blues finish the Premier Sports Cup group stages with the best record of any side.
That guarantees them a seeded place in the draw for the last 16 tomorrow afternoon, which means they avoid the five sides playing in Europe as well as Aberdeen and Ross County in the next round.
Murray mania
The clash at Brechin’s Glebe Park was over before it had even begun with Simon Murray turning in a long throw from Ethan Ingram after just 47 seconds.
Summer signing Murray made it five goals in his first two Dundee starts as he notched a hat-trick inside the opening half-hour as the Dark Blues ran riot.
The second was disputed, originally going down as a Danny Devine own goal but for referee John Beaton to award it to the striker.
Murray then turned in a super Fin Robertson throughball to make it 4-0 after Seb Palmer-Houlden had latched onto a loose backpass by Luis Longstaff.
The Bristol City striker made it 5-0 before the break as he swept in an Ethan Ingram cross before Antonio Portales’ header completed the scoring in a largely forgettable second half.
‘Couldn’t be much better’
For Docherty, though, there was little forgettable about the way his side went about their business in the Premier Sports Cup after being knocked out at this stage last season.
“I’m absolutely delighted with not just today’s performance, the first half in particular, but our overall League Cup campaign just epitomises the strength of the squad we have,” Docherty said.
“I challenged them at the start to win all four games and to get into a position where we are seeded.
“The statistics read 12 points, 18 goals scored and two conceded – it couldn’t be much better.
“We were unbeaten in pre-season and now we’ve gone through the group as a seeded team.
“We are looking forward to the draw and we’re in a really good place going into the league campaign.
“But there will be no complacency at all. All we have done is give ourselves confidence going into the campaign.
“Now we have to make sure we attack the league the same way we attacked the League Cup.”
Reaction after Annan display
Docherty revealed he wasn’t happy with aspects of the performance in the midweek 3-1 victory over Annan Athletic.
And he was pleased to see an immediate reaction against Caley Thistle.
“Today is another clean sheet, which is important,” he added.
“The performance came from hard work. We showed real intelligence today.
“I challenged them after the Annan game because there were periods at 1-1 where we weren’t as comfortable as we should have been.
“We analysed that and looked at ways we could remedy that.
“From the get-go, I think we controlled the match and we were outstanding.”
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