Dundee’s Iain Davidson believes the Championship favourites tag is one that should now be pinned on Hamilton.
The Dark Blues were widely tipped to win automatic promotion at the start of the season and return to the top tier at the first time of asking.
But Accies’ relentless form so far though means the favourite mantle now rests with Alex Neil’s outfit, especially as they sit six points ahead of second-placed Dundee.
However, the two sides meet in a crunch clash at New Douglas Park on Saturday and Davidson admits that the Dundee players are determined to put down a “marker” and show that their title challenge is still a potent one.
He said: “Hamilton deserve to be favourites for the league now. The league table doesn’t lie and although we were being tipped as favourites at the start of the season, they’re in that position now.
“They’ve only lost one league game and consistency is what wins you league titles so all credit to Hamilton. They’re up at the top of the table on merit and have been since the very start.
“You can’t argue with their form. We’ve been playing quite well and getting some decent results but, to be fair, we haven’t been able to catch them yet.
“They deserve a lot of respect for what they’ve done so far.
“But it’s a game where we’re going to try and win. We don’t want a draw because we go out there to win every game. So fair play to them but we’re aiming to go down there, get the three points and show what we’re capable of. There’s still a long way to go in the season. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon the league season as far as we’re concerned. But we want to go down there and put down a marker.”
Dundee dropped two points at home last Saturday when they conceded a stoppage-time equaliser against Falkirk.
Davidson said the Dark Blues players were hurting at missing out on a much-needed win but he insists playing the league leaders this week is the perfect opportunity for them to bounce back.
Davidson said: “We have to look to take that disappointment of the Falkirk draw into the Hamilton game.
“It was a sore one to lose a goal so late on as we felt we were going to see it out. But that’s football for you and we just have to take it on the chin.
“It’s all about trying to bounce back in the right way and at the earliest opportunity. We really couldn’t have asked for a bigger game to look forward to than Hamilton and we’re relishing it.”