Dark Blues out to avoid being another Hibs

Iain Davidson believes Dundee must breathe new life into their campaign NOW or risk becoming this season’s Hibs.

The Dark Blues face Ross County today desperate for points after claiming just two from the last 21 available.

After being humbled 6-2 by deadly rivals Dundee on New Year’s Day, a heated dressing-room post-mortem ended with James McPake, who suffered relegation with Hibs last season, telling his new team-mates that they can’t risk allowing their slump to continue.

And Davidson admits that stark warning has hit close to home because the Dee are now at risk of being dragged into a battle to beat the drop.

He said: “We’ve got to be honest about it. This month hasn’t been great for us. To lose 6-2 in a derby is a sore one to take, but we didn’t apply ourselves in the right manner.

“The gaffer has said to James McPake: ‘You’ve been involved in it,’ and James has told us it’s horrible and that it’s not something you would ever want to be involved in.

“We’re letting the teams below us catch us up and performances like the one against United aren’t going to help.

“We’re going to be down there if we do that, so we’ve got to try and react to put that right. We’re not kidding ourselves on, we’re on a bit of a downward spiral.

“Our great start to the season doesn’t look like it’s going to count for anything unless we do well in the next couple of games.

“We’ve got Ross County, then a run of games in which we need to do well. It is going to be a massive game today, but it’s about character and how we react. We have to make sure we want the game more than them.”