Paul Hartley has ordered Dundee to leave nothing to chance as they aim to clinch a top six slot.
The Dark Blues go into Saturday’s final game before the Ladbrokes Premiership split knowing victory away to Hamilton will effectively be enough to guarantee them a place in the top half.
Although the Dens Park men sit sixth, level with seventh-placed Partick Thistle on 41 points, they have a six-goal advantage over the Jags when it comes to goal difference.
Ross County and Inverness have not given up hope of snatching the last top six berth either but, depending on how results go, Hartley’s men could even claim it with a draw at New Douglas Park.
However, the Dundee boss had a clear message for his side as they prepare to face Accies, telling them: “If we win our game, we’re in the top six – it’s as simple as that.”
Hartley – whose refused to respond to St Mirren boss Alex Rae’s claims that his club had made a “derogatory” bid for Buddies midfielder Stevie Mallan – added: “But other things can happen. There’s lots of permutations.
“Teams can drop out of the top six, teams can move up. I just think we’ve got to take care of our own business and try to get the right result. That would mean whatever happens elsewhere isn’t our concern.
“Possibly a draw might be good enough but we can’t think like that. We’ve got to be on the front foot and go for the win.
“It’ll be a tough game. Hamilton had a bad result at Aberdeen last week. They will be fighting for their lives and won’t want to be sucked into 11th place.
“But we’re aiming to finish sixth and we need to make sure we’re ready for it.
“The players have got to cope with the pressure. We’ve handled it so far. We had a massive game on Tuesday night against Celtic and came through it well with a 0-0 draw.
“It’s another big game on Saturday and we’ve got to handle it again.”