Dundee captain Gavin Rae believes his side are capable of staying on the Championship summit between now and the end of the season.
The Dark Blues returned to the top of the table thanks to a 1-0 win over Hamilton in new manager Paul Hartley’s first game in charge, taking advantage of fellow promotion hopefuls Falkirk’s defeat in Dumfries.
The combination of results moved Dundee three points clear once more, although they have been on top before this season, only to fall from their lofty perch with a below-par performance soon after.
But Rae reckons there is a new-found belief among the players that they can go on to be champions under new manager Hartley.
“We know it’s going to be difficult and there’s still a long way to go,” he said.
“But if we keep pressing and keep up the kind of tempo we had against Hamilton then, hopefully, we’ll be there or thereabouts.
“It was the perfect start for the new manager. The most important thing was obviously the win, and in the first half we were probably the best we’ve been this season, if not one of the best performances.
“We had a good tempo, and although we made it hard for ourselves second half I thought overall we deserved the win.”
Dundee’s skipper has been impressed with the impact Hartley has had since taking over from John Brown last week.
“The manager has been very positive since he’s come in and the boys have taken to him,” he said.
“He’s very positive about the place and giving boys confidence, so it’s been good. We’ve all been appreciating that, and obviously getting the win is a great start for us under Paul.
“What he’s done certainly seems to have worked so far, so hopefully that can continue. I’ve played with him at Scotland and done coaching with him as well, but the most important thing was getting the win.”
Rae also heaped praise on Saturday’s scorer Martin Boyle after the 20-year-old notched his first senior goal for the club.
He added: “We had a lot of good forward attacking play, and I thought young Martin was outstanding.
“He’s waited on his chance this season and he’s come in in the last few games, but I thought he caused Hamilton numerous problems with his pace. It’s great to see him getting that goal as well.
“I’m absolutely chuffed for him. I travel in with him and you can definitely see he’s improved this season.
“It’s just about getting that confidence of playing week-in, week-out for the first team and he certainly looks like he belongs there now, without a doubt. He was part-time when he was with Montrose and it’s a case of him getting used to full-time now, but he looks as if he’s ready to kick on.
“This season in the reserves he’s been outstanding, and I’m delighted to see him replicate that for the first team.”