Dundee

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Max Stryjek - Kilmarnock

A clean sheet for the keeper who underwent heart surgery earlier in the season - a remarkable story.

Findlay Curtis - Kilmarnock

Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann put him at right-back and it proved a masterstroke as Curtis scored when Killie blew Dundee United away.

Craig Halkett - Hearts

A giant performance from the Hearts centre-back in a seismic victory against title rivals Rangers.

Ryan Astley - Dundee

Solid showing as Dundee earned a clean sheet and a vital three points.

Stephen Kingsley - Hearts

Great reactions to grab that vital Hearts equaliser.

Yang Hyun-Jun - Celtic

Celtic were not scintillating again, but Yang was a bright spark against 10-man Hibs.

Brad Spencer - Falkirk

The captain set the tone as his side once again got the better of Motherwell.

Aaron Tshibola - Kilmarnock

Great overall performance at the heart of the Killie midfield.

Joe Westley - Dundee

A big goal that takes the heat off any Dundee survival anxiety.

Kelechi Iheanacho - Celtic

He brought that scalpel-like sharpness in the Celtic penalty box that the defending champions sorely needed.

Lawrence Shankland - Hearts

The Hearts captain underlined his credentials as an inspirational leader once again with a goal of seismic proportions. His ability as a striker is clearly never in question, but even by his standards the left-foot finish to sink Rangers was outstanding.

Watch the Sportscene panel discuss Dundee's chances of Scottish Premiership survival after their crucial victory over St Mirren.

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Watch the best of the action as Dundee boost their bid to avoid the relegation play-off with a 1-0 win over St Mirren, who drop to 11th. Available to UK users only.

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Dundee striker Joe Westley says their 1-0 win over St Mirren was "massive" but insists no one will think their Premiership status is secure until it is "mathematically done".

Westley's early strike proved decisive as they edged out the Paisley side at Dens Park on Saturday.

The result leaves Dundee six points clear of the relegation play-off spot, which is now occupied by St Mirren following Kilmarnock's win against Dundee United.

The Dark Blues now have three games to play, starting with a home date against relegated Livingston next weekend where they can secure their Premiership status with a victory.

"We are not safe until it is mathematically done so we need to keep focussed and make sure that come next week we put ourselves safe," Westley said.

"It is a massive win, we had to defend resolutely, St Mirren caused us some problems with their overloads in midfield and we had to adapt in the game but we got the goal and I think we defended really well to see out the game and it is a massive three points in our season."

"Wins breed confidence and we have to take confidence from the good things."

Dundee fans, we asked for your opinions on the 1-0 victory over St Mirren at Dens Park. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

George: Dundee need to attack teams and get plenty of goals, not sit with 1-0 lead and give supporters nightmares. Next game we need to win, and win well, to reach 39 points.

Rod: I don't think we are really at risk of relegation but we needed these points. I think we'll finish above Aberdeen in eighth this season. Steven Pressley has put together a decent team, it's just a shame that it took a while for them to gel at the start of the season or else we would have finished higher.

Innes: A very welcome three points. We did enough in first 45 minutes to merit the win. I think we'll have just enough if we can beat Livingston next. Breathing space but still close.

Albert: That's us safe, I think. What a marvellous first season in the hot seat for Pressley. Can't hear a peep out the doubters now.

Gary: We looked better from the off, as Pressley picked a more structured side - arguably the line-up who should've started the Dundee derby. Pressley said we'd likely react and his players did what they needed to, although it could've been more comfortable - it was a nervy game.

A shame for Jon McCracken, who got injured, but we've a capable replacement in Kieran O'Hara it seems. A result against Livi and a favour from Killie next week saves us.

Iain: A big win to halt a sequence of poor results and poor performances. Probably safe from relegation, but this team has proved to be fragile all season. It's not over yet! McCracken's injury could be important.

Danny: We are slowly edging ourselves to safety but it's been a struggle and we could easily have dropped points with that second-half display. We still lack a bit of dig in midfield.

Dundee moved six points clear of the relegation play-off spot thanks to Joe Westley's winner against St Mirren.

The Buddies drop down to second bottom behind Kilmarnock, who defeated Dundee United.

Read the full match report.

Have your say on the game.

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Dundee head coach Steven Pressley was a relieved man with the 1-0 victory over St Mirren.

"It is tense stuff now," he told BBC Scotland. "It's become the business end of the season.

"The most important thing today was the result, but I'm really proud of the players.

"I said in the aftermath of last week's disappointment that this group of players only know one way to respond.

"Time and time again, we've been criticised. We've had some disappointing moments and we always seem able to respond in the right manner and they did that again today against a very good St Mirren side.

"I thought we played very well in the first half and looked much more like ourselves. But there's a little bit of tension out there and we were a little bit frantic at times.

"We also have to give credit to St Mirren. They are improving under Craig [McLeish] and gave us a few problems at times.

"We have still to play Kilmarnock down there, so we still have work to do."

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Dundee have a doubt over Scott Wright while Clark Robertson (thigh) is likely to remain sidelined.

Marcus Fraser has declared himself available for St Mirren six weeks after shoulder surgery and Liam Donnelly returns.

Saints have lost Jonah Ayunga to a serious knee injury, while Dan Nlundulu remains out along with goalkeepers Ryan Mullen (thigh) and Shamal George (ankle), winger Malik Dijksteel (groin) and midfielder Keanu Baccus.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Defender Ryan Astley is eager to extend his Dundee stay and is confident they will still be a Premiership club next season.

Steven Pressley's side are ninth, five points above second-bottom Kilmarnock and three clear of St Mirren, who they host on Saturday.

"I have got full confidence we can do that [stay in the Premiership]," the 24-year-old said.

"We have a good team. Performances have been good, we just need to put some wins with them and I know we are capable of doing that.

"We are still a young team so everyone is learning and the manager is big on that. I feel like you can see progression but with that you have dips as well in the season which is natural.

"So let's just get back to what we were good at and hopefully we can show what we can do."

Since arriving from Everton in January 2024 Astley has become a key player for Dundee.

And while his deal is up in the summer, the centre-back says he is enjoying his time at Dens Park and keen to stay.

He said: "Hopefully things are moving in the right direction. I really like it here, I like playing under the manager, the coaching staff, I feel like I have progressed a lot this season so we will see what happens.

"I think I have expressed that I am enjoying it here, I feel like I have improved as a player, that is why I came up here – to improve and play in this league because it is a really tough league and I am just enjoying it so let's see what happens."

Portsmouth could be joined by clubs from north and south of the border to sign battle to sign Dundee star Luke Graham when the transfer window opens. (Portsmouth News, external)

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• Only Motherwell's Ibrahim Said (38) has created more chances without yet providing an assist in the Scottish Premiership this season than Dundee's Yan Dhanda (35).

• Dundee have won their past two Scottish Premiership home games against St Mirren, as many as their previous 10 against the Buddies in the top flight beforehand (W2 D3 L5).

• St Mirren have only won one of their past six league meetings with Dundee (D2 L3), a 1-0 victory in September this season.

• Dundee have lost three of their past four league games (D1), as many as their previous 12 beforehand (W5 D4 L3).

• Over their past 10 Scottish Premiership matches, St Mirren have picked up just seven points (W2 D1 L7), the fewest of any side in the competition.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Steven Pressley has urged his Dundee side to prove their doubters wrong by securing survival after they were "written off" at the start of the season.

With four games to go, the Dark Blues remain precariously positioned in ninth, three points above their opponents this Saturday, St Mirren, and five clear of Kilmarnock, who occupy the relegation play-off spot.

"This group of players have gone through a very difficult challenging season," Pressley said.

"We were written off before the start of the season. A lot of people in the early parts of the season gave us criticism, and rightly so but it has been challenging because we are a young group of players, that is the truth.

"This group of players has responded magnificently to adversity and they are having to endure a lot this year, they are having to come through many aspects they have never come through in their careers before and having to take a lot of responsibility.

"But they have shown the right mentality and the right grit to this point and I am hopeful they can finish the job."

Dundee go in to Saturday's encounter without a victory in five league games, having won just two of their past 13.

However, three of their remaining quartet of fixtures are at home.

"I think it is fair to say that we need to get back to winning ways," Pressley added.

"I think the important thing is you don't hide from these facts, that you accept these facts and we do.

"We understand the importance of the game at the weekend, we understand that we need to get back to winning ways and there will be a clear determination to do so.

"But at the same time we give St Mirren a great deal of respect. There are no guarantees that we stay in the league, I would never give that but there is a confidence that we can."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

For all the praise I have given Dundee in this column for their performances - if not their results - over the past few months, their showing in last Sunday's derby against Dundee United may have set a few alarm bells ringing among the Dark Blues support.

It is now just two wins in 13 league games for Steven Pressley's side.

When results aren't going your way, good performances at least allow you to make the old football argument that if you keep doing the right things, eventually the results will turn.

The problem with what happened at Tannadice was that - particularly in the second half - the performance simply wasn't there as Dundee meekly succumbed to a 3-0 defeat.

The result leaves Pressley's side ninth in the table, still just five points above second-bottom Kilmarnock, who occupy the relegation play-off spot.

There is still work to do between now and the end of the season if they are to secure their Premiership status.

After Sunday's defeat, Pressley admitted "now we have to show our mettle". He knows that a repeat of their derby performance over the remaining games could lead to an anxious end to the campaign.

Their saving grace could be the fact that three of their four remaining fixtures are at home, starting with a Dens Park clash against 10th-placed St Mirren on Saturday.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Dundee head coach Steven Pressley has been speaking to the media as his side prepare for Saturday's Scottish Premiership home match against St Mirren.

Here are the main points:

• Following last weekend's 3-0 derby defeat to Dundee United, Pressley acknowledged that over the course of a season "you are going to have difficult moments".

• However, he noted that "this group of players have responded magnificently to adversity" and insisted they have the "right mentality and grit".

• He added that "we were written off before the start of the season" and spoke about the challenges his "young group of players" have had to overcome.

• Dundee are without a victory in five games, and Pressley admitted: "We need to get back to winning ways."

• With the Dark Blues sitting ninth in the Premiership table, three points above St Mirren and five above second-bottom Kilmarnock, Pressley insisted: "We understand the importance of the game."

• The Dundee boss is expecting "another really difficult challenge" against a St Mirren side that "has evolved and is playing really well" under interim manager Craig McLeish.

• On Luke Graham being nominated for the PFA Scotland's SPFL young player of the year award, Pressley said he is "exceptionally proud" of what the defender has achieved this season and believes he has been "the top performer among the young players this season".

• Pressley revealed that "we have offers on the table" for a number of their out-of-contract players and is hopeful there will be positive news regarding a couple of them soon.

• Team news: Scott Wright is a doubt for the game.

Ethan Hampton
Fan writer

The way I feel about the remainder of the season can be summed up by Dundee's display at Tannadice: mundane, malaise and mind numbing.

In three of the four derbies this season we simply haven't turned up. That raises serious questions. Do we lack leaders? Is the midfield crying out for enforcers? Where is the plan B?

Perhaps what was more concerning was the resurrection of our chance creation issues. The United goalkeeper was left untested; we lacked the quality and conviction to create anything of note in front of goal.

To have had an extra week to prepare, only to lie down and offer so little in a derby is difficult to comprehend - especially with our Premiership status still hanging in the balance.

We're fortunate to have three home games remaining, but it's hard to muster any real excitement after another dire derby display.

There is still a job to be done and it's a significant one. Dundee must ensure they don't fall through the relegation trapdoor.

ARE HEARTS DESTINED TO WIN THE TITLE? 🏆

It was a seismic weekend in the hunt for the Scottish Premiership crown. Are you rejoicing, are you quietly optimistic, or are you chucking it?

Join the debate with Ray Bradshaw at 18:00 BST TONIGHT on the BBC Sport Scottish Football YouTube channel, external to give us your views in the chat. The show is fully interactive, so have your say.

Remember to like and subscribe to not miss it!

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Dundee's Luke Graham, Arbroath's Findlay Marshall, Rangers' on-loan Tottenham winger Mikey Moore and Falkirk's Barney Stewart have been nominated for the SPFL young player of the year award.

Centre-back Graham has been a key figure for Dundee in their fight against relegation and has also chipped in with three goals in all competitions.

Moore has scored six goals and contributed two assists in an impressive campaign at Ibrox, while Stewart has been prolific all season - scoring six in 11 Championship matches on loan at Dunfermline before finding the back of the net eight times for Falkirk in the top flight.

Midfielder Marshall - who is on loan from Aberdeen - has 12 goals in 35 games in the Championship as Arbroath chase promotion.

We asked for your views after Dundee slumped to a 3-0 Scottish Premiership defeat to city rivals Dundee United at Tannadice.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Innes: A very poor performance in the second half. Goal being ruled out for a trivial offence changed the game. Lessons must be learned extremely quickly or Dundee will be sucked in. Three points are a definite must next time out.

Cammy: Credit to United - Dundee weren't at the races at all. Steven Pressley picked the wrong starting line-up. We lacked winning the second balls, created very little and showed almost nothing. They wanted it more than us and we were second best all over the park. Massive game on Saturday against St Mirren.

Martin: We were poor for the whole match. Too lightweight in midfield. Yan Dhanda and Imari Samuels gave the ball away countless times. The pitch was terrible, but that's not why we got beaten - the team who won the game wanted it more and fought harder. You expect that from both teams in a derby. We need to roll our sleeves up against St Mirren, otherwise they'll overpower us, just like United did.

Alister: Only two wins from the last 13 says it all. The players are so passive and their couldn't-care-less attitudes are driving us towards the play-offs. Time to turn up or we are doomed.

Iain: Hugely disappointing when so much is at risk. Samuels and Dhanda struggled in the first half - so disappointing that a strong bench wasn't used at half-time. Huge games ahead now.

Dundee United romped to a first derby win at Tannadice in five years with a dominant display against city rivals Dundee.

Read the full match report here

Have your say on the game via this link

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Dundee manager Steven Pressley: "The game itself I thought there was very little in it in the first half.

"In the second half we didn't manage to impose ourselves on the game and put them under pressure. Ultimately they ran away 3-0 winners and deservedly so.

"It was difficult conditions but for two weeks we've known that, we've prepared for that so there's no excuse from myself or the group. We didn't manage to find the solutions or the answers.

"If we don't find those answers it's my responsibility. We've had time to prepare, we've not come in here blind. The disappointment is there but ultimately the responsibility lies with me.

"There's a lot of feelings around today. To lose a derby is sore, to lose a derby by three goals is not what we wanted but there is nothing we can do about it. Now we have to show our mettle.

"This has been a really challenging season for us at Dundee but we've responded to those setbacks. The players have been exceptional and have had to deal with really difficult moments but time and time again they've shown their resilience and grit, we need to show that again next weekend."

Jim Goodwin has revealed Dundee United made an approach for Swansea ace Cameron Congreve prior to his loan switch to city rivals Dundee last summer. (The Courier), external