Dundee Boss Welcomes Break For ‘Stretched’ Squad

[JoeCovenant]

Source: The Courier

Dundee boss Paul Hartley admitted his side could not have too many complaints after defeat away to Ross County.

Jamie Reckord scored the only goal of the game midway through the second half, and Hartley said: "It was a scrappy game of football and there wasn't a lot in it.

“It wasn't a good performance from us, but we had to patch up the team due to injuries, then lost one player to injury before half-time and another to illness right after the break. Our squad is really stretched at the moment, but we didn't have the quality in terms of our passing or getting shots at goal.

"They scored a good goal from their point of view, but from ours it was poor defending and we know we can do better. We came here unbeaten in eight games and wanted to keep it going and that's why this result feels so disappointing. We've got a spell now where we are off for a couple of weeks and it's come at a good time for us."

County manager Jim McIntyre was delighted with his side’s performance as they recorded their third straight win, but he admitted the it was not a match for the purists.

McIntyre said: “I don’t think it was the prettiest of games, especially in the first half, but it was never going to be. I doubt many of the games will be pretty during the run-in. It was important we went about our work similarly to what we did last week - putting real pressure on the opposition. The chances created told a story. Mark Brown hasn’t had a save to make so we thoroughly deserve the victory.â€

After back-to-back wins County looked a different team from only a few weeks ago.

McIntyre said: “There’s good confidence right through the team now and obviously winning games has a lot to do with that. There was a wee spring in the step there. We tried to take the game to them and I thought we could have scored one or two more. You have to credit their goalkeeper as he’s had one or two great saves. The one he tipped on to the post from Jackson Irvine was a great save and the one from Scott Boyd was a good reaction save.â€