Tony Docherty lavished praised the “bravery” of his Dundee players as they moved into the top six but he refused to get carried away after the 2-1 win over St Johnstone.
Amadou Bakayoko fired home a late winner for the visitors after Adama Sidibeh had equalised following Lyall Cameron’s breathtaking opener.
Docherty has repeatedly targeted securing 10 league wins on Dundee’s return to the top flight and that was achieved as the Dark Blues moved one point ahead of Hibs into sixth place.
Whilst accepting the magnitude of the victory, Docherty pointed to the teams below Dundee in the table, rather than those ahead, with three more games remaining for his side until the split.
“It was a massive win,” Docherty admitted. “More importantly, I couldn’t be more proud of the players.
“Over the season you look at games and we’ve had a 4-0 and 4-1 but that today is a different type of win and a display of mentality, resilience and togetherness.
“It shows how much we’re developing as a team. There was an accusation earlier in the season that when we dominate we don’t win. To grind that out and win and be brave and make a tactical change to win it, the players took that on board and their bravery merited the three points.
“We’re 12 ahead of Ross County, 11 ahead of St Johnstone. Our big objective was to get 10 wins on the board. To get 10 as a newly-promoted team with eight games left is a huge testament to the players. It’s a box ticked but we’ll keep going. We won’t get carried away.”
Meanwhile, Craig Levein was left frustrated by two refereeing decisions as his St Johnstone side were denied a late equaliser.
Ryan McGowan had the ball in the net but referee Iain Sneddon stood by his initial decision that the St Johnstone defender had fouled Aaron Donnelly in the build-up when asked to review the incident on the pitchside monitor by VAR official Greg Aitken.
Levein conceded he hadn’t reviewed the incident but was surprised that ref Sneddon didn’t reverse his decision and he felt St Johnstone should have had a penalty for a foul on Sidibeh by Dundee goalkeeper Jon McCracken.
“I haven’t had enough time to look properly,” Levein conceded. “It was one of those days for us. I don’t know what to say.
“Most times when the ref comes to look at the screen there’s an alteration in the result. I’ll have more chances to look later on.
“I don’t like going to ask (the referee) because I’ll say something I’ll regret. In the first half we should have had a pen I thought.
“Their goalie brought down Adama but for it not to be looked at puzzles me. The goalie took the ball. They protect themselves by raising their knees but he pushed his knee out to the right and caught Adama on the thigh and they haven’t looked at it. That I’d like an answer to.”
Dream debut: Dixon shines with goal, assist on debut for Charlton U21s in 3-2 win over Watford
Reggae Boy Kaheim Dixon was on the scoresheet in his debut for Charlton Athletic U21s in a 3-2 win over Watford at Vicarage Road on Friday.
Charlton took the lead after just two minutes through a goal from Henry Rylah before Watford got their equalizer through Mamadou Doumbia a minute later.
The 19-year-old Dixon, who joined the League One club from Arnett Gardens in August, then capitalized from a defensive mistake by Watford to put his team up 2-1.
Charlton then went two goals clear thanks to Mile Leaburn, who was assisted by Dixon.
Doumbia got his second goal of the game to finish the scoring at 3-2.
Charlton U21s now have 19 points in seven games in the Professional Development League.
The win strengthens lead atop the table to six points.
They will next take on Brentford U21s on October 1.
Alcaraz beaten on Laver Cup debut with Zverev in doubles
Carlos Alcaraz suffered defeat on his Laver Cup debut, as he was beaten in straight sets alongside Alexander Zverev in doubles by Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
Team Europe put up a strong fight but struggled to match Fritz and Shelton, who won 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes.
Alcaraz and Zverev made a slow start to the match, losing their serve in the fourth game as the Americans went on a three-game winning streak, but they pulled it back to level the tie, only to lose the tie-break.
Team Europe looked to have found their groove in the second set but failed to convert four break points in the fourth game as Fritz and Shelton levelled the score at 2-2.
A three-game winning run at the end of the set, including one more break, was enough to get Team World over the line, pulling them back to 2-2 at the end of day one.
Francisco Cerundolo had originally given Team World the lead with a shock win over Casper Ruud before Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov's wins had put Team Europe 2-1 up.
Walter proud of 'courageous' Hull after comeback win
Tim Walter says he is proud of his "courageous" Hull City side after earning his first win in charge, beating Stoke City 3-1.
Narcis Pelach led the Potters out for the first time on Friday and saw his side take a 1-0 lead through Ben Wilmot into half-time.
However, Hull came out fighting in the second half to claim three points for the first time this season.
Kasey Palmer saw a penalty saved just after the hour mark but turned in the rebound before goals from Regan Slater and an own goal from Wilmot completed their late turnaround.
It is a win that propels the Tigers from 19th to 13th in the Championship, above Stoke, and Walter believes it has been a long time coming.
"It's hard to describe because I never had this feeling before. I've never not had a win in five games, so for me, it's a new situation," Walter told Sky Sports.
"But I also knew the whole time that we can win. Today we did it and that's the reason I'm really proud of my boys. They deserved to win.
"I'm happy because they always believed they can win and that's important.
"After conceding the goal, we were better. We were more courageous. We showed more bravery and that's the key to the result."
Pelach succeeded Steven Schumacher as Stoke's manager following his shock sacking earlier this week, having won two of the five matches under the Englishman at the start of the season.
Stoke managed 14 shots against Hull, but only two efforts on target, with both of those coming in the first 45 minutes.
Despite starting with a defeat, Pelach is looking for the positives after such a short time with the squad.
"It's a pity we couldn't win the game," Pelach told BBC Radio Stoke.
"We wanted to take the points, but I think the lads tried to put a new style of play in place.
"But in the second half, we lost control and ran out of energy. We should have pressed more, but we will try to explain this tomorrow and keep working on the defensive style.
"There is some things to work on mentally and we will do it. We will take the positives, and we will improve."
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