Dundee manager Tony Docherty paid tribute to Joe Shaughnessy after the Dark Blues captain’s late double earned the visitors a deserved 2-0 victory at Livingston.

Shaughnessy struck twice as Dundee finally made their pressure count against 10-man Livingston, who had Cristian Montano sent off for violent conduct following a coming together with Malachi Boateng in the 70th minute.

And Docherty was thrilled by defender Shaughnessy’s contribution in the final third.

He said: “I have never seen Joe score two goals in a game before.

“I’ve worked with him since he was a kid and I’ve not seen that in a reserve game, a youth-team game or anything.

“I’m delighted for him, he’s the epitome of what the team is. He was my first signing and leads by example.

“He does that every day and it’s good to see players like him get their rewards.

“I was also pleased for Trevor Carson, that’s four clean sheets now.

“We have good young players but the bedrock is the experience and they’re so important.”

Only two points separate Dundee in fourth and 11th placed Ross County but Docherty is delighted his top-flight newcomers, who face Rangers in midweek, are heading in the right direction.

He added: “Fourth place? That’s good. Before the game we did say that if we can pick up three points who knows where it’s going to take us.

“I’m surprised by that but we won’t get giddy or get ahead of ourselves. That’s us now played nine games and we’re in a decent position but we have a tough game to come on Wednesday night.”

Shaughnessy broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute when he turned in an effort at the front post from Aaron Donnelly’s long throw before then getting on the end of Owen Beck’s corner three minutes later.

Livingston manager David Martindale said: “The sending off definitely does not make the game any easier, it’s a bad decision by Cristian, it’s a red card all day long and I’ll be speaking to him on Sunday about it. It’s a moment of madness really.

“We’re reduced to 10 men but to concede two set plays it does not matter if you have 10 men on the park, you still have 10 men behind the ball.

“We’ve gone and lost two very poor set plays from second contacts, we lost two set plays last week and I think you can see that we miss big Ayo Obileye.

“Did the 10 men have something to do with it? Probably not. I think we have to take responsibility, I’ve got to take responsibility.”

Hibernian boss Nick Montgomery insists he can still take positives from the goalless draw with Dundee, despite the frustration of wasting a host of opportunities to seal a third straight victory.

The Easter Road outfit found their visitors a tough nut to crack but only had themselves to blame at times for their profligacy.

However, with the result ensuring he goes into next weekend’s Edinburgh derby with Hearts unbeaten since taking over from Lee Johnson, Montgomery was still satisfied with much of his team’s display.

He said: “We are definitely frustrated, I thought we did more than enough to win the game.

“The stats don’t win you a game of football, but 23 shots, and I think we had 10 on target to their two, so it’s definitely frustrating.

“But we’ll take the positives – another clean sheet, a good performance from everybody, with the boys who came in after a big week.

“I can’t fault the boys’ effort. The effort was there, the attitude was there and I thought we played some great stuff. Just a bit of luck at the end we needed, but we move on.

“I would not say it was a bad day at the office. I think there was a lot of positives to take from the game, but of course the boys are frustrated.

“I have to give credit to their goalkeeper, I thought his positioning was really good.

“We attacked a couple of set-pieces and we needed one of those to deflect or bounce off the turf and go in, but he seemed to smother everything.

“You’re going to be disappointed when you create that many chances without winning. On another day, we could have scored a couple of goals.

“It wasn’t to be. But we move on to a big game next week.”

Dundee manager Tony Docherty claimed his side were close to a “complete performance” after threatening to steal victory at the death.

The proud Dens Park boss was full of praise for the way his players implemented his tactics.

He said: “It would have been the complete performance if we had scored from the counter-attack at the end.

“If it goes either side of big Marsh (Hibs keeper David Marshall) I think it’s a goal.

“That would have capped off an absolutely fantastic performance.

“But I couldn’t be any more proud of the players. I think we’re really growing as a team.

“They executed that game plan to the letter. We carried a threat, we were organised.

“You need to remember we only had four players out there who had played at Easter Road.

“So to show that level of experience and maturity was really pleasing.

“Hibs are a very good side. I came and watched them in midweek and they have a really good style of play.

“So I suppose there is an element of disappointment, but I am delighted to come away with a point.”

St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean was thrilled after his side produced a stunning late fightback to claim a point in the 2-2 draw against Dundee.

The Perth outfit were second best for long spells against their Tayside rivals and found themselves 2-0 down thanks to goals from Scott Tiffoney and Ricki Lamie, but they would be punished for not putting the game beyond doubt.

Max Kucheriavyi came off the bench and gave Saints a lifeline with eight minutes left on the clock, and he earned the unlikely point when he slid the ball home in the sixth minute of added time.

“I’m delighted with the players’ attitude and application, and for the subs to come and make that impact as well,” MacLean said.

“I think our performance wasn’t great if I’m being honest, but to show the character that we did and the subs coming on and making an impact – that’s why we brought those players in.

“When you are poor and you get a result like that, it’s good.”

The Saints boss also hailed the impact of Ukrainian striker Kucheriavyi, who notched his first league goals for the club.

MacLean feels there’s still more to come from the striker, who spent most of last season on loan at Falkirk.

“I’m delighted for the wee man, hopefully he can kick on now. He’s got three goals already this season, that’s a good return and he’s got double figures in him,” he added.

“Hopefully he keeps improving as a player and keeps working hard.”

Tony Docherty admitted he was stunned after witnessing his Dundee side throw away a two-goal lead in Perth.

The visitors looked set to see out a well-deserved victory before suffering late heartache.

However, despite their disappointment, the Dens Park boss believes there are still plenty of positives to take from a good start.

Following clinching the Championship title last season, Dundee have taken five points from their opening four cinch Premiership fixtures.

“I’m actually quite shocked, it’s not often I’m speechless,” he said.

“We had opportunities to make it three or four nothing and I think that would have been an accurate reflection on the balance of play.

“It’s massively two points dropped but when the dust settles there’s so much I can be pleased about in terms of performance, particularly going forward.

“I can’t be too hard on the boys, but we need to learn. I said after the St Mirren game that it’s a punishing league and if you allow the opposition opportunities then you’ll get punished.”

Former Dundee skipper Charlie Adam played a key role in their latest signing after informing Burnley winger Marcel Lewis he was on his way to Dens Park.

Boyhood Dundee fan Adam is Burnley’s loan manager and helped secure a deal for the 21-year-old former Chelsea youth player.

After his first training session, Lewis told Dundee’s website: “Charlie Adam at Burnley gave me a phone and said I was coming up to Dundee which I was over the moon about.

“Charlie told me that the club is a great place to be with great players and a really good set-up.

“I want to get as many games as I can and pitch in with goals and assists to help the team.”

Lewis moved from Chelsea to Belgian side Royale Union Saint-Gilloise and had a loan spell at Accrington before making a permanent switch to Burnley 12 months ago.

Manager Tony Docherty said: “He is a very productive attacking player who likes to drive at defenders.

“He is also a technically-gifted footballer, who has real ability on the ball and will help us be creative in that final third.

“He has been recommended by Jody Morris and Charlie Adam as an extremely-creative player and has been brought in to enhance an already-strong squad.

“Marcel gives us another young hungry player who wants to impress and prove himself in this league and I am delighted we have been able to bring him in.”

Tony Docherty admitted he was delighted his players finally reaped the rewards all their hard work deserved as they picked up their first cinch Premiership win of the season.

Luke McCowan scored the only goal of the game for the Dark Blues in the second half against Hearts with a sublime lobbed finish at Kilmac Stadium.

The 25-year-old scored a similar goal in pre-season but this time it really counted, securing all three points.

Docherty said: “It doesn’t surprise me with Luke.

“He did it pre-season against Fleetwood Town from further out.

“Luke McCowan typifies the type of player I have in that changing room.

“I am really pleased for him but more pleased for the squad in terms of they got their rewards today for all the hard work they put in.

“I am absolutely delighted and it was no more than the players deserve as we put in a lot of hard work in the last couple of weeks on the training ground.

“We had a game plan and I thought the players carried that out to the letter. I thought we were worthy of our win.”

There was confusion before kick-off with McCowan originally named in the starting line-up with Josh Mulligan on the bench.

New team sheets were then released with the duo swapping positions but just before kick-off, McCowan was back in the team with Mulligan as a substitute.

However, Docherty played down the mix-up.

He added: “There was something happened before the game.

“You can put that down to human error. It was human error, that’s all I am saying.”

Hearts technical director Steven Naismith did not pull his punches in his assessment of his side’s performance.

“We weren’t good enough today. It’s as simple as that,” he said.

“I don’t think we deserved much out of the game. We are fortunate at half-time to be 0-0, we never really caused them many problems and they caused us more problems.

“That’s a reflection of the first half. We needed to make three changes which did make an impact.

“For 15 to 20 minutes we caused them loads of problems, but I felt we went away from what was getting us good situations. We went away from that and started making the wrong pass.

“Ultimately it’s a poor day, we don’t get anything from the game.

“As the game wore on I thought Dundee saw the game out well. They made passes at the right time, frustrated us.

“We were powder puff towards the end and that’s never going to get you anything.”

Luke McCowan was the Dundee hero as his stunning goal secured the Dark Blues’ first cinch Premiership victory of the season against Hearts at Kilmac Stadium.

There was little between the teams in a goalless first half, but the Jam Tarts seemed to have taken a grip of the game after the break before McCowan popped up with his decisive finish.

The victory lifts Dundee up to sixth in the table, level on points with Hearts in fifth.

The opening stages of the contest were even with Dundee the first to threaten in the 14th minute when the ball fell to Zach Robinson, but the striker’s shot flew wide.

Shortly after, Hearts had a chance of their own from an Alex Lowry corner, but Frankie Kent sent his header over the crossbar.

Dark Blues midfielder Finlay Robertson managed to place a shot on target in the 28th minute, but his volley from the edge of the box flew straight at visiting goalkeeper Zander Clark who easily gathered.

Five minutes later, the hosts thought they had taken the lead when a Jordan McGhee shot was deflected in by Robinson, but following a VAR check, the effort was ruled out for offside.

Hearts forward Yutaro Oda then tumbled in the Dundee penalty area under a challenge from Owen Beck, but referee Alan Muir waved play on.

Scott Tiffoney threatened again when he cut in from the left, but his low cross-shot was comfortably saved by Clark as the sides headed down the tunnel at the break with the game still deadlocked.

The visitors made three changes at half-time with Liam Boyce, Nat Atkinson and Cammy Devlin coming on for Oda, Toby Sibbick and Odel Offiah.

And Boyce came close to making an immediate impact in the 47th minute when he hit a shot from a tight angle that was deflected wide for a corner.

Hearts’ tails were up with Lowry dinking a cross from the left towards Kenneth Vargas, but his header was cleared off the line by Beck.

Steven Naismith’s side came close again when Stephen Kingsley hit a superb 30-yard free-kick that looked destined to fly into the top corner, but home keeper Trevor Carson produced a stunning acrobatic save to tip the ball away for a corner.

However, the deadlock was finally broken in the 63rd minute. Hearts’ Aidan Denholm gave the ball away with McCowan pouncing to hit a sublime 30-yard lob over the head of the retreating Clark and into the back of the net.

McCowan almost turned provider in the 80th minute, hitting a cross from the right towards Robinson whose goal-bound header was tipped away to safety by Clark.

Dundee survived a late Hearts onslaught to hold on to all three points.

St Mirren moved top of the cinch Premiership with a 2-1 victory over Dundee.

After dominating for the first hour, Josh Mulligan’s goal set up a nervous ending for the Buddies, though they would hold firm to keep up their winning start to the new campaign.

Following defeat, Dundee dropped to eighth spot in the table and are still looking for their first win since returning to the top-flight.

The first chance of the match fell to the hosts, with Scott Tanser heading over Ryan Strain’s cross.

But St Mirren opened the scoring after seven minutes when Joe Shaughnessy diverted Conor McMenamin’s cross beyond Trevor Carson and into his own net.

McMenamin almost doubled the hosts’ lead when he crashed a header beyond the Dundee keeper, only to be denied by the crossbar.

Dundee were handed a brilliant opportunity to level matters 10 minutes before half-time when Mikael Mandron was adjudged to have held back Lee Ashcroft inside the area.

Colin Steven went to the monitor before pointing to the spot, though Zach Robinson would see his penalty kept out by the legs of Zach Hemming.

It took a good stop by Carson to prevent Strain’s cross from creeping under the bar on the stroke of half-time before Saints struck again.

Caolan Boyd-Munce’s corner found Mandron, who made no mistake in dispatching his header into the bottom corner.

Greg Kiltie headed narrowly over shortly after the restart as the home side continued to control proceedings.

The visitors pulled a goal back in the 63rd minute when Mulligan glanced Scott Tiffoney’s cross past Hemming.

Suddenly, the momentum had swung the way of the visitors and Luke McGowan passed up a glorious opportunity to level when he fired at the legs of the St Mirren keeper after bursting clear on goal.

It took an excellent goal-line clearance by Shaughnessy to keep out Alex Grieve’s low effort, and the referee consulted VAR again to confirm the ball did not cross the line.

Seven minutes of added time brought additional hope for Dundee, though they would fail to threaten the home goal – ensuring it was St Mirren who took all three points.

Tony Docherty insisted Dundee deserved to take all three points from a 1-1 cinch Premiership draw against Motherwell at Dens Park.

The newly-promoted Dark Blues had to settle for a share of the spoils against the Steelmen on their return to the Scottish top flight.

Motherwell debutant Theo Bair opened the scoring with a fine finish on the stroke of half-time with Lyall Cameron securing a draw for the home side after the break thanks to a headed equaliser.

Docherty was pleased with the resolve shown by his players to come from behind but he thought they deserved to win the game.

The 52-year-old said: “I was really disappointed to go in 1-0 down at the break.

“I thought we were the better team but I said to the boys at half-time to ‘keep doing what you are doing’.

“I was delighted with the response of the players and equally I was delighted with the response we got from the crowd who were right behind us. They saw us on the front foot in that second half.

“When we got the goal, we were unfortunate not to go on to win it.

“I am a little bit disappointed not to win the first home game however in the Premiership when you go behind, I think it is important you show that resolve and mentality, that you don’t give up the ghost.

“I think we showed that in abundance today.

“I feel we were the better team and should have taken three points.”

Motherwell boss Stuart Kettlewell was delighted with Bair’s contribution after the striker signed for the Steelmen earlier this week.

The manager said: “Theo offered us a lot after just two training sessions and being nowhere near being fully match fit.

“But to get about 80 minutes was tremendous. I thought his overall game was good but can get better.

“I’m just delighted with his composure for the finish because it’s not easy when it is skipping off the surface at that type of pace.

“He’s the type of player I want to work with. His attitude is fantastic and he has some real good raw attributes. I think he’s a player that will grow in our side.”

Unlike Docherty, Kettlewell felt a draw was a fair result.

He added: “In the last 10 minutes of the game, I thought we were in the ascendancy, the team pushing to try and win the game.

“But I’d like a bit more quality from us, I’d like us to test the goalkeeper a bit more with that type of pressure. I thought we got into reasonable positions but didn’t work the goal enough.

“From that side of it, a fair point is how I’d look at it.”

Dundee marked their return to the cinch Premiership by coming from behind to salvage a 1-1 draw against Motherwell at Dens Park.

Theo Bair, who signed for the Steelmen earlier this week, enjoyed a dream debut as he opened the scoring at the end of the first half.

The hosts drew level after the break through midfielder Lyall Cameron with both sides ultimately having to settle for a share of the spoils.

Prior to kick-off, Dundee unfurled the Championship flag won last season before there was a minute’s applause in memory of former Scotland boss Craig Brown, who was part of the Dark Blues squad crowned Scottish Champions in 1961/62 and also managed the Steelmen.

The hosts were forced into an early change in just the sixth minute when Mexican defender Antonio Portales had to go off injured to be replaced by Josh Mulligan.

Both sides took their time to find their feet on an already-wet surface that was made worse by a torrential downpour.

However, as the first quarter passed, Dundee started to ease into the game without testing Liam Kelly in the Motherwell goal.

Instead, it was the keeper’s opposite number Jon McCracken who produced the first important save of the contest in the 21st minute when he dived low to divert a long-range strike from Blair Spittal wide for a corner.

As the half-hour mark approached, a Dundee corner kick was held up temporarily by referee David Dickinson as the Dens ground staff frantically tried to clear standing water from the opposite corner area.

Motherwell had another opportunity when Connor Wilkinson found space in the Dundee box, but his snap shot was deflected wide.

However, right on the stroke of half-time, the deadlock was finally broken by the Steelmen.

Stephen O’Donnell found himself in acres of space down the right and sent a tempting low cross into the box which was swept home with aplomb by Bair past McCracken.

The rain finally relented with Dundee having the first opportunity of the second half when Owen Beck swung a corner in from the left, with skipper Joe Shaughnessy seeing his header blocked on the line.

The hosts then had two chances in quick succession with Luke McCowan having a shot blocked by Kelly at his near post with the keeper saving the rebound from Zach Robinson.

However, Dundee finally equalised in the 68th minute when McCowan swung an inch-perfect cross in from the right with Cameron nodding the ball home at the far post past Kelly.

The Dark Blues had another chance when a Cameron cross was deflected onto his own post by Motherwell’s Dan Casey.

Both sides tried manfully to find a winner with the visitors forcing successive corners deep in stoppage time but Dundee held on to secure a draw.

Dundee manager Tony Docherty believes he has recruited “one of the best goalkeepers in the league” after signing Trevor Carson on a three-year contract.

The Dens Park club have paid an undisclosed fee to land the 35-year-old Northern Ireland international from cinch Premiership rivals St Mirren, where he made 40 appearances last term.

Carson has previously played for a string of clubs, including Bury, Portsmouth, Cheltenham, Hartlepool, Motherwell, Dundee United and Morecambe.

“I am absolutely delighted to secure the signing of Trevor Carson who I regard as one of the best goalkeepers in the league,” Docherty told the Dundee website.

“Last season when playing against him he had some outstanding performances and saves.

“He has got so much experience, he knows the league and I think he will bring a lot to the club. We have acquired a fantastic goalkeeper and professional.

“He will help me and the coaches get our message across to the squad and he will help the young players both on and off the pitch.

“First and foremost Trevor is a top performer, a really good goalkeeper with Premier League experience, but also in terms of personality, work ethic, mentality, he is everything we want to be at this football club.”

Carson signed a contract extension with St Mirren in March until the summer of 2025, but – while confirming his departure to Dundee – the Paisley club revealed that “over the summer, Trevor made clear his desire to move on from St Mirren”.

Carson is looking forward to working under Docherty and playing alongside his former Buddies colleague, Joe Shaughnessy, who moved from St Mirren to Dundee earlier this summer.

“It’s brilliant to be here,” he said. “I am very grateful to the manager and everyone involved who has made this deal possible.

“It’s the old cliche but I can’t wait to get started. I had a great conversation with the manager and as soon as I came off the phone, I said I want to play for that man.

“He talked about the project and the plans he has got here. It helps that Joe is here too, who I played with last season. Joe spoke very highly of the place and these things count massively in football.”

Striker Zach Robinson has returned to Dundee on a season-long loan from English League Two club AFC Wimbledon.

The 20-year-old spent the majority of last season on loan at Dens Park as Dundee won promotion from the Scottish Championship, scoring 13 goals in 33 appearances.

He is back as the club prepare for their return to the Premiership.

Manager Tony Docherty said on the club’s official website: “We are absolutely thrilled to get Zach back at the club where he had such brilliant success last season.

“He had a fantastic goal return and scored some very important goals which helped the club win the Championship.

“It is a signing that will massively excite the fans who love him after he had such a massive impact last term.

“Personally, I am thrilled to get the opportunity to work with Zach. I saw a lot of him last season and always came away thinking what a talented player he was, he made a huge impression on me.

“I am sure Zach along with the other new additions to the squad will make us a competitive team this year.”

Adam Legzdins is looking for newly promoted Dundee to become an established cinch Premiership club after signing a new deal which commits him to the Dark Blues until the summer of 2025.

The 36-year-old goalkeeper joined from Burnley in November 2020, and helped the Tayside club to the top flight via the play-offs in 2021.

After dropping back down to the Championship, Dundee won the title this season and will return to the Premiership and Legzdins wants the Dens Park club to stay at the top long-term.

He told Dundee’s official website: “I really am delighted to extend my contract with this fantastic club for another two years.

“Dundee FC is a massive team in Scottish football steeped in history and tradition which you feel every time you represent the Dark Blues.

“My family and I have lived in Dundee and the surrounding area for the last two and half years and we feel so lucky to have found a wonderful place we now call home.

“The people of the city and the fans of our great club have been fantastic with us and I promise them I will continue to be committed and give my all both on and off the pitch to help us accomplish what we want to in the future.

“Last season really was a fantastic achievement by everyone at the club. We made memories that will last a lifetime.

“I will never forget the support from our travelling fans at Ochilview on the final day of the season to the outstanding reception we received at City Square.

“Seeing the next generation of young fans having their pictures taken with the trophy really showed me how lucky we are as players to play for this great club.

“It is now time for us all to work even harder to establish ourselves as a team in the Scottish Premiership for years to come.

“There are some great people at this club who will work tirelessly in pursuit of this goal.

“I want to help them, my team-mates, and the fans whenever I can to bring even more good times to Dundee FC.”

Jim Goodwin has told his Dundee United players “to not feel sorry” for themselves ahead of the battle with relegation rivals Kilmarnock on Wednesday night.

The Terrors’ boss was dismayed by the goals conceded in the 2-1 defeat at Livingston on Saturday and their third successive loss after three straight wins kept them bottom of the cinch Premiership, two points behind Ross County and three behind Killie, with two fixtures remaining.

After the visit of Kilmarnock, the Tannadice side take on Motherwell at Fir Park in the final fixture of the season on Sunday and Goodwin, who was appointed United manager on a short-term contract in March, stressed positivity to his players at a meeting on Monday.

“The key message was to not feel sorry for ourselves,” said the Irishman, who will make a late decision on Steven Fletcher’s groin injury which kept him out the trip to West Lothian.

“I don’t want to see anyone mumping and moaning about the place.

“I want to see everyone nice and bright which I think I got at training this morning, there was a positive reaction.

“We are not brushing anything under the carpet.

“We have spoken about the mistakes we made on Saturday and we emphasised again the importance of Wednesday in terms of making better decisions in those key moments and if we do that then  we give ourselves a really good chance.

“I don’t think there is a great deal between the two teams.

“I think it will be a close affair again like most of the games in the league are but there is lot of stake for both teams.

“But we have some very good players in that dressing room who are more than capable of turning it on and hopefully we see that on Wednesday.

“Every game since I came through the door has been massively important  and the next one is the most important but Wednesday night is the biggest game of the season.

“We don’t need to over-emphasise what is at stake. We are still in the fight.”

Manager Gary Bowyer and assistant Billy Barr have left Dundee just a few days after winning the cinch Championship title.

Bowyer took charge at Dens Park last summer and secured promotion back to the Scottish Premiership at the first time of asking following victory over rivals Queen’s Park on May 5.

The former Blackburn and Salford boss has been linked with a move back to another of his old clubs, Blackpool, who have been relegated to League One.

In announcing Bowyer’s departure, Dundee said certainty was needed as the club headed into the summer, with technical director Gordon Strachan set to oversee the recruitment process for a new manager.

“Dundee Football Club can confirm the departure of manager Gary Bowyer and assistant Billy Barr,” a club statement read.

“Gary helped the club achieve its objective of an immediate return to the cinch Premiership and we are grateful to him for leading us to the cinch Championship and automatic promotion.

“Now is the time for certainty as we enter a critical summer of work in the transfer market and on the training ground, to ensure the first-team squad is ready to compete in the Premiership and remain in the top division.”

Dundee managing director John Nelms added: “Given the importance of the weeks and months ahead, I felt it was necessary to ensure we are all aligned on the direction needed to ensure the club is ready for its return to the Premiership.

“On behalf of everyone at the club, not least our fans, we wish Gary the best for the future and reiterate our thanks for his achievements in the past year.”

Owen Coyle urged his Queen’s Park side to grasp their chance to reach the top flight with a cinch Championship shoot-out win over Dundee on Friday night.

The Glasgow side, who are ground sharing with Stenhousemuir while Lesser Hampden is being revamped, are two points behind the Tayside outfit at the top of the table with the title and an automatic place in the cinch Premiership up for grabs in the final fixture.

In what promises to be one of the most exciting finales to the Championship campaign as nine teams still have something to play for, Queen’s Park, Scotland’s oldest senior club, are looking for a remarkable third successive promotion.

Boss Coyle, on their official Twitter account, said: “We are full of excitement. Looking forward to an unbelievable night. A chance to be champions of the Championship.

“Given the journey we have been on, to be given the opportunity to take Queen’s Park into the Premiership, I think at the start of the season we would have done somersaults for that opportunity.

“If someone said in the last game of the season you would be at your home from home with the chance to win the game and go into the Premiership as champions, of course we would have grasped that.

“What we have to do is deliver on that and that needs a big performance, one that we are more than capable of.

“I am pretty sure the lads are as excited as I am about the game.”

Coyle concedes that having to win the game against Dundee makes the task straightforward.

The former Burnley, Bolton and Ross County manager said: “We know we have to win. Obviously Dundee are at the top of the league at the moment.

“They know they can afford a draw and be champions.

“That itself probably sets you in a quandary while we know we have to win the game so that is our mind-set, to go and win the game against a good side, good players, big squad, a Premiership club, as we know.

“But what we have to do is show that we want to be that Premiership club and we have 90/95 minutes to do that.

“We need to be at our best. We have shown that when we are at our best we win games.

“We have won more games than any other team in this league up to this point because we play to win games. That is why the game on Friday suits us.

“We go all out to win games, we commit players forward and look to have that creativity that we have been known for to create the chances to ultimately scores goals because we will have to score to win the game.”

Promotion play-off spots are still to be confirmed with two points between third-placed Partick Thistle and Morton in sixth spot.

Thistle, who are two points behind Queen’s Park, travel to Raith Rovers, the only club with nothing to play for in terms of either going up or going down.

Scottish Cup finalists Inverness host Ayr United and Morton travel to second-bottom Cove Rangers who have the chance to move out of the relegation play-off spot.

Bottom side Hamilton, who are one point behind Cove, take on Arbroath at Gayfield knowing they need to get at least a point to avoid automatic relegation.