Tony Docherty insists Dundee are not getting the rewards for their efforts right now.
Dundee lost 2-1 to Aberdeen at Dens last weekend to slip to second bottom of the Premiership.
Dark Blues boss Docherty admits his team have to move on from that disappointing Dons defeat with a crunch clash against Ross County in Dingwall looming large tomorrow.
However, the manager is adamant that the stats from the Aberdeen game prove his players are still performing to a high level – and if they continue to do so, wins will follow.
Docherty said: “It’s the sharp end of the season, it provides opportunities.
“There was a real frustration last week that we never grasped that opportunity, because when you look at all the match stats and when we do our own individual analysis on it, the only stat that went against us was the score.
“That sounds ridiculous, but in terms of your box entries, the possession, all that kind of stuff, that should have been enough to not lose a match, and probably win it.
“You need to move on from that, but you also need to make sure there’s perspective to see there’s a lot you’re doing right.”
Message stays the same
Docherty added: “I always go back to performance levels – if you show a consistent level of performance then some of the things that never went for us on Saturday, and resulted in us losing the game, will go for you.
“It’s important that we as a staff and players keep that belief and focus.
“My message was the exact same when we were sitting in the top half of the league, and it’s the exact same just now.
“It’s focusing on each match and doing all we can as a group of players and a group of staff to execute a game plan that gives us a chance of winning all three points.”
‘Really big game’
While Dundee were losing against Aberdeen, Ross County were winning at Motherwell – their fourth Premiership victory on the road since they ended their long away hoodoo by beating the Dark Blues at Dens on Boxing Day.
The Staggies now sit two points ahead of the Dark Blues in the league table but Docherty is determined to produce a game plan that will pay dividends in Dingwall.
The 54-year-old said: “Ross County have done well and have a fantastic away record.
“I think they’ve won four out of the last five, but they’ve lost games at home, so it’s important we focus on that as well, because we’ve had good away results.
“Credit to them, they’ve put themselves in a good position and it’s a really, really big game against them.”
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