Dundee midfielder Paul McGowan believes manager Paul Hartley was absolutely right to get stuck into the team.
After Saturday’s 5-2 defeat to Ross County, Hartley called his players’ defending “abysmal” and complained about the “disgraceful” goals they lost to the Staggies.
With champions Celtic coming to town tonight, McGowan backed his boss and warned that the Dark Blues must avoid another dramatic collapse when they take on the Hoops.
The former Parkhead player, who admitted it was all a bit of a “blur” in Dingwall as the game raced away from them, said: “The manager’s criticism after the Ross County match was totally justified and I’m still in disbelief at how we went from 2-1 up in the second half to losing 5-2.
“What happened is just typical of us – the story of our season.
“We are good to watch but we just don’t seem to have a bit of dig about us, a bit of nastiness.
“We went 2-1 up and should have sat in and weathered the storm for five or 10 minutes.UPDATE: Dundee v Celtic off due to waterlogged pitch“We were coping well in the first half and (County keeper) Scott Fox made a great save at 1-0 when he tipped one over.
“I was devastated and couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“We had just hammered Hamilton and the boys were on a high and then that happened.
“Against County, we were 1-0 up and comfortable and then we also went 2-1 up.
“It was just a blur after that.
“The manager said quite a few things but he was quite right because it was totally unacceptable from us as a team and we need to take responsibility.
“The boys do take full responsibility for what happened in Dingwall and it’s not just the defence – it’s the whole team from the front down.
“It is all right people saying the gaffer could be under pressure but he has been brilliant and given every player a chance in the team.
“It’s down to us. We need to start producing more often and not just every now and again.
“We need to start being hard to beat.
“We went 2-1 up and were so open.
“That was the frustrating thing – it was embarrassing, quite frankly.
“It’s frustrating because we know how good we can be.
“We’ve shown it but we are so inconsistent that it’s scary.
“Indeed, it wouldn’t surprise me if we went out and got a draw or beat Celtic – that’s just the way season is going.”
While Dundee need to bounce back from a bad result, things aren’t exactly a bed of roses either for Celtic and their manager Ronny Deila.
They head to Dens on the back of a draw at Hearts and a home defeat from Motherwell.
McGowan has witnessed at close quarters just how pressure can pile up on a Celtic gaffer.
“The results for Ronny aren’t that bad and when I think back to my time at Celtic it was more of a struggle under Tony Mowbray,” he said.
“I remember going from cloud nine on the Saturday when I got man of the match on my full debut at Celtic Park and then on the Wednesday we lost 4-0 to St Mirren.
“I was only 19 then and I couldn’t believe it.
“We got off the bus after that St Mirren game and there was a large group of Celtic fans baying for the manager.
“I thought to myself: ‘Wow.’
“I grew up a Celtic fan and it wasn’t nice seeing that but that’s the passion and the demands to win every week.”
McGowan feels the league leaders being winless in two doesn’t make it easier for the Dark Blues tonight.
“They’ll be at it and there are some real top quality players in that side,” he added.
“It’s going to be a hard game.
“We know how good they are and everyone else knows that on their day they are the best side in the league and they will go and win it.
“It’s just about how we approach the game. If we turn up then we know we can give them a good game and that’s the main objective for us.
“We can’t just wait and see what Celtic side turns up.”