Hartley admits Dundee are in trouble after Hamilton defeat
Dundee manager Paul Hartley admits his side are in big trouble after they lost their seventh consecutive match in the Scottish Premiership.
Dundee manager Paul Hartley admits his side are in big trouble after they lost their seventh consecutive match in the Scottish Premiership.
The Dark Blues slipped into the second-bottom relegation play-off spot following a 2-0 defeat to Hamilton at Dens Park.
Goals in either half from Alex D'Acol and captain Michael Devlin ensured the Accies picked up their first away win of the campaign.
Hamilton leapfrogged rivals Dundee to add further momentum to their own push for survival thanks to D'Acol's 22nd minute penalty and Devlin's late header.
Hartley said: “We had chances in the first half but we're low on confidence. You go a goal behind and we find it hard to come back.
“But we've got five games and we've got to try and fight our way out of it somehow.
“The performance disappointed me in certain aspects. We've got to handle the criticism. I understand that too.
“It's a major blow for us. How do we change it? It's hard because we've done everything we can.
“In terms of systems, players, different shapes, personnel. Trying to find a way to win a game and we're not doing it just now, we're not quite good enough.
“I can understand the fans booing. If you're ona run like we are the first thing they'll come for is the manager. I'll handle that. It's part and parcel of football.''
Hartley vowed to fight on despite the criticism.
He said: “It won't affect me. Do I like it? No. But it's just the way it is.
“Of course we're concerned. I'm not lying. We've been on a bad run. I'm not painting a picture to say everything is great and a bed of roses.
“It’s alarming times but we've got to fight and try to dig results out from somewhere.”
Hamilton manager Martin Canning poured praise on his side after they secured their first away win in the Premiership this season.
He said: “It's a huge three points. At this stage of the season, performances don't really matter because it's all about results. But we got both today and I felt in stages our performance was excellent.
“We actually spoke about the away record during the week although I don't normally discuss things like that. It shouldn't be the case at this stage in the season when you look at what we've got in the changing room.
“We've drawn far too many games and sometimes we've conceded late but that's the importance of the second goal. We were just able to see things out.
“All credit to the players. They were able to relax and go and play. For 15 minutes of the second half, we didn't show that composure but then we got to grips with it after that.
“The only criticism is that we could have scored a couple more goals but I'm not going to be greedy. Ultimately, it's the three points which matters most.”