Neil McCann upbeat over Dundee’s survival chances thanks to spirit of players

NEIL MCCANN believes Dundee will have the last laugh in their battle against the drop after seeing a smile return to his new players’ faces.

The former Dark Blues, Hearts and Rangers winger got off to a perfect start as Dens boss with a crucial win over Ladbrokes Premiership relegation rivals Motherwell.

The 3-2 Fir Park win was a precious result for a team who had suffered seven straight defeats in the lead up to Paul Hartley’s sacking.

It also eased their play-off fears as they climbed from 11th place to ninth, albeit with just a one-point cushion over second-bottom Well.

But McCann thinks shifting the cloud of gloom that has hung over the Taysiders in recent weeks could be just as important as the points they collected in Lanarkshire.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s trip to Kilmarnock, McCann said: “The boys thoroughly enjoyed picking up three points, which they hadn’t done for a long, long time.

“It was really important that they enjoyed the feeling of winning because there is no better feeling. I wanted them to sap everything from last week.

“When they came back in on Monday after a well-earned rest, I could see what it meant to them. We’ve had another strong week.

“One of my first objectives was just to lift the mood around the place.

“We want to win games and move up the table but you have to drag that atmosphere round the place with you and change it.

“But I found it easy. From the first couple of sessions I could see they were 100 per cent in it and now if you talk to the boys yourself, you’ll see they are very upbeat.

“I wouldn’t allow it to be any other way. I’m a pretty positive guy and to be honest I won’t stand for anyone standing there with their shoulders down, thinking that we’re done, because we’re not. Far from it and I think we proved that last weekend.

“We know where we are and we know our objectives for this weekend. I want us to go out and prove against Kilmarnock once more that we’re the team I think we are – strong and good enough to stay up.”