Kilmarnock boss Steve Clarke insists the pressure remains on Neil McCann and Dundee – despite the Dark Blues finally putting some points on the board last week.
Dundee travelled to Hamilton last weekend on the back of seven straight defeats.
It was rumoured McCann’s job would be in jeopardy if he could not halt that run at the Hope Stadium, but there was relief as they claimed a 2-0 victory.
However, the Dee remain rooted to the bottom of the Ladbrokes Premiership ahead of Killie’s trip to Tayside this weekend and Clarke has attempted to turn the heat up on his opponents with some pre-match mind games.
“It was obviously big for them last weekend to get their first win of the season,” he said. “I’m sure they have had a decent week in training and feel better about themselves. They will approach the game positively.
“Neil has got a lot of talented players there and they play good football. It will be a difficult challenge for us.
“But it’s still only their first win, so the pressure is still on them. They have to try to back it up, they have to try to win again.
“So there is still pressure there. They haven’t won at home and we go there in reasonable form looking to continue a half-decent run, so it should be a decent game.”
Killie will be hoping former Dundee frontman Greg Stewart continues his hot streak against his old side.
The 28-year-old won a move to Birmingham in the summer of 2016 but failed to make an impact at St Andrews and endured another difficult season on loan at Aberdeen last term.
However, he has hit the ground running after making another temporary switch to Kilmarnock and Clarke says his tally of three goals from his first four starts is proof Stewart is almost back to his best.
He said: “Greg has been a little bit frustrated with his time down at Birmingham, he didn’t quite get the opportunities that certainly his talents deserve but sometimes that happens in football.
“He came back up to Aberdeen last year and was involved a lot but didn’t quite hit the heights he was hoping for.
“However, he’s come in here very determined to get his career back on track and at the moment we are reaping the benefits of that.”
