DUNDEE GOALKEEPER Rab Douglas is determined to beat St Johnstone today to pay back manager Barry Smith and the long-suffering supporters.
The Dark Blues hit a low point against Aberdeen at Dens Park on Saturday, turning in a performance the former Scotland number one deemed “unacceptable.”
Douglas feels the players let their boss and the fans down by the manner in which they crashed to that 3-1 loss at home.
He said the squad are all well aware it wasn’t good enough and revealed a determination to put things right at McDiarmid Park.
“We didn’t see that coming,” said Douglas. “The boys were up for it before the game and it was a massive disappointment.
“So we owe it to the manager and the backroom staff, fans and ourselves to do better. It was unacceptable on Saturday.”
He continued: “We have to go down to Perth and do everyone a turn on the park rather than just talk about it in the dressing room.
“We are looking for a reaction and the great thing is we don’t have to wait a week.”
Douglas was asked if he felt Smith deserved better for sticking by his players during what has been a difficult transition from the First Division.
“Yes, without a doubt,” he replied. “We need results and we need them pretty quickly. It hasn’t been good enough all over the pitch.”
Douglas also delivered a message to the supporters that he shared their pain.
“The boys do hurt,” he said. “It is not as if you just go away and switch off. It is sore sometimes.
“It is not any fun, because we don’t like getting beaten. But we have to start doing it out on the pitch and we need to start doing it collectively.”
The Dark Blues were catapulted into the SPL as part of the Rangers crisis and, while not using that as an excuse for their position, Douglas does think it is a big step up from the First Division to the SPL.
“That is always there in the background, but when you cross that line it is 11 against 11,” he said. “There have been games where we have been lacking maybe that wee bit of quality to get us through an SPL match, but it is a hard thing to pinpoint.
“Some folk say how they are fed up hearing that we got into the league late. But those were the circumstances.
“You get folk saying that it was hard being put into the league over such a short period of time. But you want to compete.
“You don’t want to be at the bottom and the last thing you want to be is detached. It is great having both Dundee teams in the SPL just now, and we are not doomed.
“We are just around the halfway mark in the season so there are plenty of points to play for. However, we have to be realistic as a squad of players and get our sleeves rolled up.”
iroache@thecourier.co.uk