Murray: Dundee only looking upwards in Premiership table

Simon Murray insisted Dundee were looking only upwards in the Premiership table as they hoped to move out the relegation play-off spot with a result against Ross County on Sunday.

Tony Docherty’s side are without a win in five league matches and are in 11th place, six points ahead of bottom side St Johnstone and two points behind the Staggies, albeit only four points behind sixth-place St Mirren.

Ahead of a week in which the Taysiders will face Ross County, Motherwell and St Johnstone, the 32-year-old forward said: “Well, if we win two games, we can go into the top six.

“So you need to look at it from that point of view and grasp that opportunity to propel ourselves up the league.

“We’ve got the players here capable of doing that and that’s pretty much what we are focused on.

“It’s so close. And if you keep looking at tables and this, that and the next thing, you’re just getting distracted.

“First and foremost, it’s about bringing good performances and picking up points.

“And we’ve got three games next week in the space of seven days, so we can be sitting here in two weeks comfortably in the top six if things go your way.

“So I think that’s what we need to concentrate on – starting from Saturday.”

While Dundee have been on the slide in the league, Don Cowie’s Ross County side have lost only to leaders Celtic and Rangers in their last eight league games.

Murray, who had an enjoyable and successful time at the Highland club before joining Dundee last summer, said: “They’ve been doing well, a few great results and they’ve got good players up there, good management, good staff.

“It’s a great club. Obviously, I was there for a couple of seasons, so I know them well and they’re doing good.

“So we just need to make sure we’re at our best in another tough away game, but we’ve shown going away to St Johnstone (3-1) and St Mirren (2-1) that we’re more than capable of picking up points on the road.”