Dundee manager Jim McIntyre insists there can be no more excuses in their desperate fight to achieve survival in the Ladbrokes Premiership.

McIntyre's side slipped further into trouble following Saturday's 2-0 defeat by Aberdeen at Dens Park, which was made even harder to stomach as second-bottom St Mirren managed to secure a 1-1 draw at Hamilton.

It meant the Dark Blues are now trailing St Mirren by three points with just five post-split fixtures remaining, and McIntyre maintains only they can haul themselves to safety in the weeks ahead.

McIntyre said: "The table doesn't lie. We are where we are right now and we all know what lies ahead of us.

"Only we can turn it around and we need to start picking up points as soon as possible, starting when we go to St Johnstone in our next game.

"I'm beginning to sound like a bit of a broken record, and probably have done so for the past wee while.

"But we know what's at stake and we will be up for it.

"The fixtures are out. We're well aware of who we have to play and we can only concentrate on ourselves.

"I can't ask the boys for any more spirit or endeavour. We just need results to try and get to where we want to be."

Meanwhile, Aberdeen manager Derek McInnes insists all focus is now on next Sunday's Scottish Cup semi-final with Celtic after Sam Cosgrove bagged a brace against Dundee.

Cosgrove struck a 59th-minute penalty before sealing the win late on.

McInnes said: "It's a great one to look forward to. It's been tough going in the league recently with so many games.

"But we have a full week to prepare now for Hampden. The boys have been great and deserve credit for beating such a hard-working Aberdeen team.

"It's never easy at Dens Park but we lifted our game after the break."