Dundee boss says team will not go all-out to pick up wins
Dundee manager Barry Smith says that he will not tell his men to go all-out in a bid to avoid a likely relegation to the Scottish Football League Second Division.
A 25-point penalty was imposed by the SFL after Dundee fell into administration for the second time in seven years. That has seen them drop into last place in the table, 20 points behind nearest rivals Greenock Morton.
Unless the club are successful in their appeal against the penalty, they will have to win the vast majority of their games between now and the end of the season to avoid dropping down to the third tier of Scottish football.
Smith — who was appointed player-manager when Gordon Chisholm and Billy Dodds were sacked after the administration process began — is determined to win as many games as he can, but he will not be setting out his players to throw caution to the wind.
He told reporters that: "We've got to win every game — it's as simple as that. But that won't affect the way I set the team up.
'We do not need to be any more positive'
"We have scored six goals in the three games I've been in charge for, so I don't think we need to be any more positive.
"What we need to do is shut the door at the back and if we do that then we'll start winning games."
The 36-year-old added that his players could barely wait for their clash with Partick Thistle on Saturday, 6 November, claiming that playing a game would provide a temporary respite from the club’s woes.
"Playing football is a release, so everyone can't wait for the game. It has been a hard week but we've trained well and are ready to go.
"The lads just want to focus all their energy on trying to get a result against Partick.
"They're obviously disappointed at what the league have done but we just have to get on with it. There is a belief we can stay up and a determination to prove it."
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