Dundee boss Neil McCann admits the anger he felt after his side lost against Kilmarnock on Tuesday night will continue to burn within him until his players put things right and return to winning ways.
The manager was absolutely raging at Rugby Park after his side threw away a 2-1 lead against a home side who had been reduced to 10 men.
The 3-2 defeat was an absolute hammer blow but McCann has challenged his players to make amends – hopefully as quickly as tomorrow in a crunch game against Partick Thistle at Firhill.
The manager said: “I have said what needed to be said to them.
“I said a lot after the game on Tuesday night and I said a lot to them this morning.
“Then it was back to looking forward to Partick Thistle.
“It is clichéd but it is better that the games are coming thick and fast and you have to move your concentration to the next one.
“But they were reminded of the reasons we didn’t win that game, why we lost it, before training today so hopefully they got the message.
“We had a good session but it doesn’t matter what happens on the training ground, it is what happens on the pitch.
“So we will know at 10 to five on Saturday night if they wanted to put things right.”
McCann admitted that the anger he felt on Tuesday night had not abated, saying: “It is still burning yet.
“It will continue burning until we put it to rest with a good performance and three points.
“Overall, I thought our game plan was good and the players carried it out until Killie had a man sent off and that’s what I am angry about.
“We lost our composure, we lost our discipline to play in a way that had got us to that position.”
McCann admitted that as a coach and a manager, there is only so much he can do and ultimately the desire to succeed has to come from within his players.
He said: “I think anybody who goes to the games and watches me can hear that I still coach.
“I find it difficult not to. That’s the level we are at just now. We still have a really young group who are clearly not yet the finished article.
“I would love to just sit in the dug-out and let them get on with it.
“But it has to come from within as well – there is only so much a coach can do from the side.
“It has to be done on the pitch and unfortunately it didn’t happen enough (against Killie).
“We need to learn lessons about how we lost the game. I know exactly where we lost it and I have told the players.
“It is constant lessons. Every day is a school day.
“They have to understand going into the game on Saturday that if I come up with a game plan then I want them to stick to it.
“If they do that and we fall flat, then that is down to the management.”
The last time Dundee played Thistle at Firhill back in October, the Dark Blues lost the game despite dominating proceedings.
McCann is hoping that will act as a further spur as his players look to right the wrongs of Tuesday night.
The manager added: “I thought we were superb down at Thistle.
“It was one of our best performances yet we came away losing that game.
“So if you needed any fresh encouragement, about how to game manage, then you only have to look at Tuesday night and then cast your eye back to Firhill when we were so dominant against the team we are playing on Saturday.
“But we threw it away and it was there for everyone to see where we went wrong so we must do better.”
