The pressure is very much on Dundee but Ryan Astley insists the Dark Blues are relishing it.
Dreadful form since the turn of the year has seen the Dens men drop from a top-six challenge into the relegation play-off spot.
And next in the fixture list is the highest of all pressurised fixtures – a Dundee derby.
The challenge in getting out of trouble is not one Astley and the Dark Blues are shying away from.
“It’s about the next game and let’s prove people wrong,” Dundee defender Astley said.
“It’s hard to put your finger on what has gone wrong.
“I thought against Hearts we defended well in most parts, so in terms of a single thing it’s hard to say.
“The first goal was into the top corner and you just have to move on from that.
“We just have to move on from it now and look towards the big one next, which is the derby.
“We want to do it for the fans, they were amazing at Hearts and will turn out in their numbers again against United.
Confidence
“We won the last derby so you take confidence from that and it’s always nice winning those games.
“We will prepare right all week and make sure on the Sunday we’re ready to go.
“If we can produce the same performance as we did in the second half on Friday we’ll be fine.
“It’s small margins in these games, we had a chance just before they scored and a bit more quality and it’s a completely different game.
“We spoke as a group afterwards and it’s time to move forward now.
“The second half performance is what we have to work on for the next nine games now because they’re massive.
“It’s nine cup finals but we’re looking forward to it, it’s a challenge.”
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