Mark McGhee is looking to exploit Aberdeen fan frustration at Pittodrie on Saturday.
The Dundee manager will travel north to his old stomping ground with the Dark Blues still rock bottom of the Premiership, five points adrift of St Johnstone in 11th.
McGhee has yet to taste victory after 10 games in charge at Dens but Dundee will face an Aberdeen side low on confidence who lost at home to Livingston at the weekend.
The Aberdeen fans were not slow to voice their displeasure at that result with the Dons now just five points ahead of Saints in the relegation play-off spot and McGhee hopes to frustrate them again.
However, he insists it is his players who will need to have the decisive say if they are to finally pick up three points again.
The 64-year-old said: “Watching the Aberdeen v Livingston game back, there is pressure from the crowd up there.
“They do make it difficult for their team, so if we can harness that then great.
“But we can’t rely on that. We have to imagine every team is at their best.
“I hope Aberdeen are not and they don’t seem to be, but we can’t rely on them - we have to go up there and do enough ourselves to win the game.
“If we win, it will be because we have won it on our own merits rather than they’re getting pressure from their supporters.”
Dundee drew for the third game in a row on Saturday against St Johnstone, taking the lead through Jordan Marshall before being pegged back by a Shaun Rooney goal.
However, with the Dark Blues’ Premiership survival hanging by a thread, McGhee knows they simply have to take three points against the Dons in the Granite City.
He added: “We need to find more than we have in the last three games. We need to step it up to turn those draws into wins.
“We will have to start the way we did against St Johnstone, getting off to a good start in games is so important.
“If you start well then you give yourself a chance, but if you don’t then it’s very difficult to bring yourself up to a level.
“I was very pleased with the way we started against St Johnstone - but we need to sustain that for longer.
“That game showed that when you get a goal up you need a second one.
“We have to be ready to start on fire at Pittodrie.”
