Andrew Nelson defiantly insists the new-look Dundee team he is part of can no longer be considered pushovers by the rest of the Premiership.
The 21-year-old striker was snapped up by Dark Blues boss Jim McIntyre last month for an undisclosed fee from English League 1 outfit Sunderland.
Nelson has made an instant impact at Dens, scoring on his starting debut against Hearts at Tynecastle and then netting two more in the first half on Wednesday night against Kilmarnock.
Dundee were outstanding in the opening 45 but Killie came back to equalise and edged the second period.
However, McIntyre’s men passed up a last-gasp opportunity to take all three points when Kenny Miller had a penalty saved deep into stoppage time.
Nelson though insisted there were still plenty of positives to take from the game as Dundee continue to try to extricate themselves from the relegation zone.
He said: “Definitely, especially with it being a new squad as well.
“There are still a couple of lads needing to settle in but we can only go forward from here.
“The manager was saying to us at the end of the game that we look like a different team compared to what it was before.
“It can only bode well for us that teams will now start to think Dundee are not going to be a pushover.
“We are going to be fighting, making sure we try to get that result.”
Nelson is hoping his flying start to his Dundee career can continue, insisting that nothing makes him happier than hitting the back of the net.
He said: “As long as I am scoring, I am going to be happy.
“I have had a bit of a struggle this season with injury so to have that scoring feeling again is something I will never be able to match with anything in my life.
“As long as I am doing that I am going to be thoroughly happy.
“If I am here, I want to be playing, I want to be on the team-sheet, playing week in, week out.
“That’s why I play football, I want to be playing games, doing what I love.
“I have only had little loans spells previously, a small taste of football but nothing to this point now where I have kick-stared my career.
“That’s obviously a big step.
“But I am here just to help out in any way I can to do as well as I can.”
McIntyre added 11 new players in January with Nelson admitting the manager’s attention to detail is helping all the new arrivals gel on the pitch.
He said: “We went through everything on Monday thoroughly, with everyone knowing their positions and jobs.
“The new lads who have come in have settled pretty well as have I.
“It is a great squad we have now. The lads that are in there now have done a great job at getting everyone in, making sure we are gelling and we are all on the same page.
“It only bodes well for the future.
“The manager will have little individual meetings with certain players telling them what he wants out of them during a game and what he wants them to do specifically.
“He is very intricate with the way he does things at setpieces and how we want to play with the ball and out of possession.
“The lads are responding to that well because if they know their job, not much can go wrong.
“That’s what he has done well to get us onto the same page and to perform.”
Dundee now have a free weekend before another vital league fixture against Livingston next Saturday and Nelson admitted the break will do the squad the world of good.
He said: “That will only help us. It gives lads the chance to get used to the surroundings and maybe get a bit of rest as well.
“The lads put everything into the Kilmarnock game so it will be good to get a well-deserved break before we are back into it next week.”
