A SCANT points return that will ultimately lead to Dundee’s relegation from the Premiership unless ameliorated has naturally ensured that it has been a season of lows for the players and supporters alike.
Midfielder Paul McGowan was therefore pleased to report that both he and his team-mates rediscovered their enjoyment of football in Saturday’s rousing comeback against Hibs.
The Dark Blues looked down and out after 30 minutes as the hosts seized control courtesy of a Genseric Kusunga own goal and Ryan Porteous header.
At that point the Dens Park outfit looked like they would be on the end of a mauling.
However, a Kenny Miller strike in first-half injury time gave the visitors a lifeline before McGowan notched an equaliser two minutes after the restart.
Following a woeful run of one win sandwich between 11 defeats in the top flight, back-to-back draws with St Mirren and now Hibs have given the Tayside club hope they have now turned a corner under new manager Jim McIntyre.
And McGowan admits the manner of the fightback against Neil Lennon’s side reminded him why he loves the game so much.
He said: “We enjoyed that game on Saturday. There’s not many times we could say that we’ve enjoyed playing this season but I enjoyed that.
“The fans went home happy after watching us come back from 2-0 down.
“We could have gone under there given the position we are in but I was so proud to be part of this performance. We showed great character.
“The lows have been very low. There’s no getting away from it that some of our performances have been way off it for a professional football team.
“We get paid good money to play football but we’ve been miles off it.
“We’ve not done ourselves justice. We’ve let the fans down, we’ve let everyone down but we’ve let ourselves down because we are good players although we have not been showing it.
“We lost games and we lost belief.
“We have not been good enough but we have turned a wee corner and we are going in the right direction.
“There’s not many times I have praised us this season but we deserve every bit of praise going because a draw was the least we deserved.”
After losing his first four games in charge, McIntyre reckons the players are now getting to grips with what he expects from them, and McGowan insists he is feeling the benefits of a greater emphasis being placed on fitness.
He added: “The last manager was all about fitness too but he’s come in and demanded a lot more from the players in training and the fitness levels are going up. I’m certainly feeling the difference.
“I’ve not felt this good in a long time. That’s down to the hard work the fitness guy is doing with the players during the week.
“We are buying into the tempo of the training, the standard of training is lifted immensely and it’s starting to show on the pitch."
Hibs midfielder Daryl Horgan, meanwhile, insists the Leith outfit need to brush up at both ends of the park if they are to end a five-game winless rut.
He said: “We have a way of playing with the way the manager sets us up, which is enjoyable to play in, enjoyable to watch but we need to be more clinical in both boxes.
“It’s so tight in the league but you don’t want to be dropping points, especially at home.”
"We got off to such a good start. It was two pivotal moments - don’t concede in the last five minutes, don’t concede the first five minutes.
“Mistakes cost us. If you don’t take the chances, the game changes.
“We were sloppy in the second half, it just wasn’t good enough.
“It’s a kick in the stones really, it’s a sore one to take."
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