PAUL Hartley last night told his Dundee players they must maintain the level of performance they produced in their historic 2-1 win over Rangers if they want to retain their top six Ladbrokes Premiership place.
First half goals from Mark O’Hara and Kevin Holt secured the first Dundee victory over their Glasgow rivals at Dens Park in nearly 25 years – since way back on August 15, 1992, to be precise – yesterday afternoon.
The narrow triumph saw the Tayside club jump above both Kilmarnock, who were beaten 2-1 at Rugby Park by Aberdeen yesterday, and Partick Thistle, who defeated Hamilton 2-0 at Firhill on Saturday, in the top flight table.
Hartley was delighted at how his charges had performed against opponents who had caretaker manager Graeme Murty in charge for the second time in seven days – but stressed they must show the same commitment and desire going forward.
“I thought it was a real team performance,” he said. “Our attitude and our pressing were outstanding. It does take us into the top six, but it’s the manner of the win which was pleasing.
“We changed our shape and pressed Rangers all over the pitch because we were determined that we wouldn’t let them settle. We played a high press.
“I never thought we were in danger today, even when they scored, because that came from the one time we didn’t press properly. We were never in trouble. It could have been more. We had good opportunities to score more goal.
“But to get a win against Rangers, the first time since ‘92 here, has been a long time coming. The fans will be happy with the win and the way we played, the performance. We know we’ve got that in us. Consistency has been our problem.
“We didn’t want to let Rangers settle into the game. They build from the back and we didn’t let them do that. Even the two strikers, who didn’t score, they worked so hard today just to close them down right from the off."
Hartley added: “We’re quite a young team. We only have one player who is 30 and we have a lot in their early 20s, but every player hit top form for us.
“The challenge for us is that can’t be one-off because it’s Rangers. We have to be like that every day. The top six is so tight, everybody jostling to get in there, we’ll be looking over our shoulders.
“Next week can’t be different. That’s the level we have to take into the next few weeks. The players need to know this is not a one-off. It will be hard work again come Tuesday.”
Hartley, whose side take on Motherwell at Fir Park on Saturday, believes the 2-1 victory over Rangers will be remembered fondly by Dundee fans for years to come.
“I remember the ’92 game and I think the supporters will remember this just as fondly,” he said. “It’s not often you beat Rangers, Celtic, whatever. We were underdogs, but always knew we had a chance if we could put that performance in.
“I think the fact Rangers didn’t perform is credit to the way we played today. On front foot from the off, in their face, we gave them no time to play. Their good players didn’t perform to high standards because of the way we went about our business.”
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