Dundee boss John Brown admits he fears his side’s SPL survival bid will be fatally undermined by a “woeful” Hibs outfit.
The Dark Blues know that if they are to retain their top-tier place for next season, they have to overhaul second-bottom St Mirren.
With 10 points separating the teams with just four matches remaining this season, Brown knows there is no margin of error left for his side.
Dundee need to win their remaining games and look for favours from elsewhere. However, having been an interested spectator at Easter Road on Monday night when Hibs played out a dismal draw with Aberdeen, the manager fears that the Buddies could cash in when they travel to face Pat Fenlon’s side on Saturday.
Brown believes that with the Hibees set to face Celtic in next month’s Scottish Cup Final, their players have already “downed tools” as far as the SPL is concerned.
He said: “I was at Easter Road on Monday night and I felt I was looking at a Hibs team waiting for a cup final. I didn’t see any hunger, desire or willingness to put their foot in.
“They should be playing for places in the final but from what I saw, I can see St Mirren going there on Saturday and getting a result as I think Hibs were woeful.”
Dundee’s destiny may be out of their own hands but Brown is looking for another big effort from his players and the club’s fans when Hearts visit Dens on Saturday.
He admitted that the game against the Jambos will bring memories flooding back from when he was a Dark Blues player in 1986 when Albert Kidd famously scored two goals that snatched the title from the Edinburgh side and handed it to Celtic who were thumping St Mirren at the same time.
He said: “Hearts are safe now and they will be a tough proposition as they always are. The visit of Hearts though brings back good memories from many years ago when I was playing here.
“It’s ironic that you had St Mirren getting beaten by Celtic and Dundee beating Hearts to deny them the title by scoring two goals through Albert Kidd.
“So I would like to issue a rallying call to the fans to turn out in big numbers and get behind the team on Saturday as we really need them. The supporters at St Mirren last weekend were fantastic and turned out in decent numbers.”