Hibs set for 'really challenging' weekend battle as rival activates new found belief after tough beginnings
The Dundee boss wants to see his side improve their home form as The Hibees come to town for the first time since the opening weekend of the SPFL Premiership.
As Steven Pressley prepares his side to take on Hibs, the Dundee boss is hoping to continue fleshing out his Dens Park fortress.
Hibs will go to Tayside full of confidence after they secured their first win at Celtic Park since 2010 with their 2-1 triumph last weekend, however, Dundee made some history of their own last weekend. Their 3-2 victory over Aberdeen ended a 22 year wait for a win at Pittodrie, and after the match, ex Hearts captain Pressley claimed his side weren’t bad for a ‘jobby’ team.
The former Hearts man hasn’t had much luck against The Hibees this season, with David Gray’s side winning both their meetings so far this season. However, since their win against Dundee United in the derby at the start of the year, The Dee’s appear to have turned a corner with a vibrant young squad. They are slowly but surely distancing themselves from a relegation scrap.
Pressley on home form ahead of Hibs clash
Each of Dundee’s three victories since the turn of the year have come on the road, albeit the Tannadice win was a fairly short excursion. As they prepare to take on Hibs at Dens, their manager would like to see them improve their home form and start making it difficult for the opposition now that they’re starting to pick up points.
He said: “Our home form has been reasonably good, but it's still an area I would like to see us improve. We want to make Dens a really challenging place to come. We are still not there yet. We are now going to places expecting to win certain games. That is down to the belief we have in the group at present. We responded really well at Aberdeen and that was a huge win."
The Pittodrie triumph saw Dundee go four points ahead of ninth place St Mirren and secure some breathing space away from the relegation dogfight. They now sit just two points behind The Dons in the Premiership table and three behind their Tayside rivals.
‘We all want to be loved’ - Pressley
Pressley has never been a popular figure at Easter Road however he didn’t exactly endear himself to the Dens Park faithful either in his opening day press conference, with the line, ‘if you’re looking for a manager with a history of winning titles I’m not your man.’ However, as the results start becoming more positive, so has the 52-year old’s popularity amongst the support.
While Pressley admits it’s nice to be well-liked by your own fans and in general, he also admits that he doesn’t focus a great deal on his public perception and just tries to get on with the job at hand. He continued: "We all want to be loved, of course we do, that is human nature. We all just try to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. You can be a popular guy one day and three weeks later people might want you out. That is just the way the football industry is right now, soI don't get too up or down about things. I just try to stay focused on the present, that's all I can impact."