In seasons past it was impossible to get within earshot of anyone connected with Dundee FC without the Division One title being mentioned.
But even following this 2-1 victory over Queen of the South, which moved the Dark Blues to within eight points of leaders Ross County, whose game against Ayr was called off, there remains a wariness of looking any further than the immediate future.
While that will not whip the supporters into the kind of frenzy seen in campaigns past it is a sensible tactic by manager Barry Smith and his players are doing their talking on the most important stage of all the pitch.
With County idle, this was a chance to close the gap on Derek Adams’ side to seven points and one which Dundee, at first at least, appeared to gleefully accept.
However, it came at a cost with star winger Nicky Riley the standout player in Division One this season controversially red-carded for two bookings.
It all seemed to be going so swimmingly for Dundee, as Jake Hyde and Riley gave them a two-goal lead after just 25 minutes and Queens were reduced to 10 men when Kevin Holt was ordered off by referee Charlie Richmond for two fouls on Riley within the space of three minutes.
But Queens dug in after losing a man, halving the goal deficit with Chris Higgins’ header on 55 minutes before Riley was ordered off.
The decision looked harsh at the time, as he was definitely tackled by substitute Alan Reid, a point conceded by the official, and the fact that his first booking was received for celebrating with his own fans simply compounded the feeling of injustice.
In the end this was much harder work than Dundee needed to make it, with goalkeeper Rab Douglas required to make a stunning late save to deny Kevin Smith to secure full points.’Strange game”’It was a strange game because we are the ones who ended up hanging on a bit at the end. You always think you might have to make a save and thankfully I was able to pull it off,” he said.
“We went from relatively comfortable in the early stages to having to grind it out. But the main thing is getting the three points because we want to claw it back to the teams above us.
”We have won six games in a row and that has put us up the league. I don’t think we’re playing all that much better than we were at the start of the season it’s just that things are starting to go for us.
”We were being punished for every mistake back then but even when we were bottom of the league we always had faith in ourselves to bounce back from it.
”The boys have the bit between their teeth now and you can see the confidence is there to see it through.
”Obviously it’s a massive game next week and we’ll go there and respect County. They are top of the league on merit, they have been really consistent and deserve to be where they are.
”We know from when Inverness overtook us to win the league how hard it is to stay out there in front.
”But you won’t get me saying anything that could be disrespectful to County because I think they’re a really good side and are sitting on the top because they have been great this year.’Not looking ahead”’We have closed the gap a wee bit because they didn’t play but we’re not looking ahead of the next game.”
Douglas was not able to get a clear view of Riley’s sending-off but expressed some sympathy for the official. He said: ”I didn’t see the incident with Nicky so I can’t really comment.
”What I will say is that I wouldn’t be a referee for all the money in the world because it’s a horrible job. They only get one chance to see it so it’s a hard job.
”Nicky says the boy made contact and I believe his word but as I say it’s not really for me to comment. His first booking was for over-celebrating in front of his own fans, which is a sore one to take but those are the rules.
”You can’t appeal two bookings so he’ll be out for the County game but the lads will just rally round and give it our best shot.”
Smith was less understanding, however, as he faces up to losing Riley for the trip to Dingwall. Talks with Richmond after the game revealed the referee saw contact take place but he judged it wasn’t enough to send the winger tumbling.
Smith said: ”I have spoken to the referee and he said there was contact so I can’t understand why there was a booking. He said he didn’t think there was enough contact to bring him down but I don’t know how he can know that.”