Nicky Riley admits Dundee’s players are out on their feet but insists mental strength can compensate for their weakening legs.
Barry Smith’s Dark Blues showed their resilience again by coming back twice against Cowdenbeath to gain a valuable point and stretch their unbeaten run to 23 matches.
Cowden, the last team to defeat Dundee in the first division back in September, were the better side over the 90 minutes but it is impossible not to admire the indefatigability of the men from Dens Park.
Facing defeat against Falkirk, Dunfermline and the Blue Brazil in the last week, each time they have dug themselves out of a hole and when you consider the rigours of playing so many matches with the same personnel the three points gained actually looks an impressive haul.
Riley, who has improved steadily since joining Dundee last summer, admits their performance was “flat,” but was satisfied with a point.
“Things were a bit flat for us,” he said. “It wasn’t the best we have played. We are 23 games unbeaten now and it is hard to sustain it.
“It has been the same team every week and it’s going to be a fight. We are still in the relegation battle, nobody here thinks we’re out of it yet.
“We have been on a great run but Cowdenbeath played really well.Resolve test”It’s not a good thing to be goals down all the time, but by coming back so often recently shows the resolve we’ve got.
“It’s a big test of character. It wasn’t the best performance but we managed to get a point out of it.”
Dundee slipped behind when Stevie Crawford got on the end of an excellent Mark McKenzie cross to flick it over goalkeeper Rab Douglas.
But trialist striker Jake Hyde, making his second of three possible appearances, pegged one back before doing the same in the second half after Scott Linton scored to put Cowdenbeath ahead again.
Hyde has proved a valuable addition to the squad in the last two games and Riley thinks it’s a pity he will have to depart after one more game.
“Jake has done really well,” said Riley. “He’s scored three goals in two games, which is a great record for any striker. “He’s come in at an important time and helped us out. He trained with us for a while and I think that has been important.
“He has not played as much as we have lately so he’s been fresh and you can see that.
“It’s just a shame that he’s only got one game left.”
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Cowden star Linton admits they were left ruing a missed opportunity after twice leading but believes they can play their way out of relegation trouble.
“We sat in the dressing room after the game and it felt like a defeat,” he said. “We came here and played very well. We passed the ball and looked a threat all the time, we should have won the game.
“In the past we had been lumping it but recently we’ve been playing some great football.
“We went on a bad run of five or six games when we couldn’t win, but we came back against Stirling from three down and since then we’ve been playing really good stuff.
“We are delighted with the way things are going and that’s what we want to keep up. Stevie Crawford has been a great addition, he’s played for Scotland a lot of times and his experience is important to us.
“I think we’re getting it together at the right time and we feel we can get out of the play-off position.
“We know we can’t rely on other teams to do us favours but if we keep playing like this we’ll get out of it.”Smith’s viewDundee manager Smith, who must be a leading candidate to be named manager of the year, admits his team did not play to their full capabilities but was satisfied with a point.
“We never got going,” he said. “We didn’t start well and let them dictate the game for long spells.
“But I won’t be critical of the players. They have given us everything and it wouldn’t be right to have a go at them after one poor performance.
“There was an expectation level and the whole place was flat. We need the fans to get behind us. They have been brilliant but sometimes you get days like we had.
“I have never said we were out of the relegation battle and the way Cowdenbeath played proves to me that there is a long way to go yet before we’re safe.”