Adding to their disappointment was Saturday’s cup exit at the hands of Raith Rovers in front of an expectant home support at Dens.

However, despite their dip in form, Dundee still find themselves in a position others would rather be — at the top of the league.

The manager accepts that, but acknowledges that, if his side are to achieve their No. 1 goal, they have to start playing like prospective champions.

“We know it’s in our own hands. If we want to win the title, then we’ve got to start playing like a team that wants to win the title — it’s as simple as that,” said Jocky

“We’ve got a big two-and-a-half weeks coming up when we play five games which takes us up to the end of the month.

“There could be lots of changes, and I’m not just talking about for ourselves, because everybody is going to be playing each other.”

First up is a trip to Ayr tomorrow night and Jocky has been drumming home to his men the importance of getting off to a flying start at Somerset Park.

He continued, “We’ve got to start imposing ourselves.

“We’ve allowed teams to get at us and to get the first goal, which has meant we’ve had to fight back and, in this league, that makes things very difficult.

“Ayr are on a decent run and, I keep repeating myself, but they are all difficult games in this division.

“We’ve got to match them effort-wise and make sure we stand up to them from the first whistle.”

Following the recent poor displays, changes will be made to the starting XI., and, with a healthy squad at his disposal, the manager has several options available.

“It’s just a question of whether I make wholesale or limited changes. My initial reaction on Saturday was to make a lot, but we’ll see.”