The last thing a manager whose side are struggling at the bottom of the table probably wants to hear is the dreaded vote of confidence from his board, but when his players offer their support for an embattled coach, it perhaps means a little more.

Of course, Dundee midfielder Tom Hateley was hardly going to come into the press room after Wednesday night’s abysmal home performance in the loss to Partick Thistle – his side’s sixth defeat in a row – and eviscerate Paul Hartley. But there appeared to be something about Hateley’s demeanour and the strength of his words that suggested he was not just trotting out some tired old clichés while secretly wishing for the axe to fall on his gaffer.

There was a determined tone about him, which unfortunately for Dundee was sadly missing among the men in dark blue while they were actually out on the pitch.

Whether he and his teammates can replicate their apparent steely resolve in defence of their manager on the astroturf of Hamilton this Saturday remains to be seen, but they will have to find some backbone and quick.

If they don’t, one can only surmise that this current Dundee lot will wilt in the face of the energetic pressing game displayed by Hamilton in their win over Aberdeen at the same venue on Tuesday night.

And if the squad really does want their boss to keep his job, they owe him more than a few consolatory post-match platitudes.

“The players are one hundred percent behind the gaffer and the coaching staff,” Hateley said.

“There are no cliques here with people in little groups having chats amongst themselves. We are all behind him and confident that with him we can get out of this.

“We’re in a bad situation but we have put ourselves here. But along with the gaffer we will find a way out of it.

“There’s no point moaning or sulking about where we are, we have to go out and do something about it. We have to stand up and be men.

“We have to be bold and confident on the ball because we have put ourselves in a difficult situation.

“It’s only us, the players, who can get out of it. The manager can give us tactics and tell us how to play, but we have to be the ones to do it.

“We have to be more difficult to beat, we need to shut up shop. Over the next few days we will work hard and do everything we can to get out of this.

“The last thing we want to do is start drifting away at the bottom of the league. We believe we have more quality than that.

“At the moment we’re conceding the first goal and struggling to come back. When you are on a run like we are the confidence is low, and the lower the confidence goes the more difficult it becomes.

“You have to try to pick everyone up because that makes a difference, but it’s a difficult situation.”

On the evidence of Wednesday night, there appears to be a dearth of the sort of character required within this Dundee squad to drag themselves up by the bootlaces and get out of their current predicament.

Hateley disagreed though, and insisted that there is a strong enough will among the Dens Park players to dig themselves out of a mess of their own making.

“We have experience in the dressing-room, James McPake isn’t playing but he’s still there helping people along,” he said.

“We have a good bunch, it’s not a silent dressing-room. We are honest with each other, the door gets shut and we have a good chat. That’s the way it has to be.

“If harsh words need to be spoken for the sake of the team they have to be spoken. Sometimes harsh things need to be said and that’s definitely the situation we’re in.

“I can tell you everyone is together and working hard, but it doesn’t mean anything if you’re not doing it on the pitch.

“It’s time to stand up and be counted, the situation is horrible and for the sake of everyone at the club we need to get a result on Saturday against Hamilton.

“You can’t be timid or soft in the way we pass the ball, you have to try to keep your spirits and confidence high. So we’re glad we have a game in a couple of days because it’s another chance to start turning things around.

“We fully understand the situation we have put ourselves in and it’s up to us to get out of it.”