Lyall Cameron scores a penalty for Dundee against St JohnstoneSNS

Lyall Cameron signed off at Dundee with a double

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland at McDiarmid Park

Manager Tony Docherty insists Dundee "were never losing that game" after his side made sure of their Scottish Premiership survival by beating relegated St Johnstone.

Lyall Cameron marked what would turn out to be his final appearance for the club before joining Rangers with a double. The 22-year-old drilled a crisp low shot into the net just before the half hour, before converting an added-time penalty.

In the end, a draw would have been enough for Dundee to finish 10th, one place above the relegation play-off spot, after Ross County drew with Motherwell.

"We needed to get that result," Docherty said. "I've enormous pride in the players and I think we showed a real strength, a real mentality, a real resilience.

"It's very fitting for wee Lyall. Our last three games, he's scored four goals. His quality is outstanding and he's going to have a fantastic career."

St Johnstone's demotion had been confirmed in midweek and they went out with a whimper in the final game of their 16-year stretch in the top flight.

With their fate sealed and the pressure off, the home team started with a real freedom and went close when Makenzie Kirk's flicked effort went over, before Dundee defender Clark Robertson deflected a Taylor Steven cross over his own bar.

The visitors did settle into things, though. Cameron in particular began to exert a real influence, curling a long-range shot just wide.

But he wasn't to be denied on 27 minutes as he netted his 13th goal of the season, much to the delight of the large travelling support.

Like in the first half, St Johnstone made a decent start to the second, with Kirk firing an angled shot into the side netting shortly after the interval.

But also like the first half their early promise fizzled out.

Dundee thought they had doubled their advantage when Scott Tiffoney slotted the ball under goalkeeper Ross Sinclair and into the net, but his effort was correctly ruled out for offside.

St Johnstone were rarely seen as an attacking force as the half wore on, but an Adama Sidibeh shot that went just wide served as a reminder to Dundee that there was still work to do.

The away fans were cheering late on as news of County's 1-1 draw with Motherwell filtered through, a scoreline that further eased any flickering fears they may have had that their team could yet end up in a relegation play-off with Livingston.

And the three points were sealed when Cameron converted from the spot after Graham Carey had fouled Ziyad Larkeche.

Bigger picture the focus for St Johnstone

It is the bigger picture that will be occupying the minds of the St Johnstone faithful and they will hope it won't be long before they are back at the top table.

Manager Simo Valakari has received the backing of the board and he will certainly be doing his utmost to make sure they return to the Premiership at the first attempt.

While that will be the main objective, the bigger goal at the club will be trying to find a way of halting what has been a gradual decline in recent times.

A lot of people have had their say, and offered their take, on what has gone wrong at the club since their remarkable domestic cup double four years ago.

The causes are likely multi-faceted but will need to be addressed soon to ensure a the desired rapid response.

Dundee can address concerns with survival secure

With survival secure, the inquest into how Dundee got themselves embroiled into such a battle can begin.

Having been promoted from the second tier, they impressed in the Premiership last term, finishing sixth.

This has been a strange campaign - when they are on it, they have proved they are a match for anyone. The problem has been they haven't been on it often enough.

A team bursting with goals has too often been undone by a porous defence.

It is important to point out, though, that this is the end of what is only Docherty's second season as a manager in his own right. It is perhaps unsurprising that there will be ups and downs along the way.

But the fans will be hoping the lessons learned from the past few months can put them back on a good footing to be challenging higher up the table next season.

What they said

St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari: "The quality was not there. That's how it has been and now we need to change that, make it better to be successful. We need to raise the levels and it comes through the hard work.

"From the start, we are the club who came down from the Premiership. We should be a favourite but it's up to us to be this favourite.

"Now it's even more pressure on us. You want to bounce back and it requires a different type of mentality."

Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "I don't want to be a manager of a team that's sitting in the bottom six. When the time's right, we'll reflect fully on it.

"There has been inconsistency there. We need to recruit well but the players that have been in there and will be moving on, I need to thank them for what they've done for the club.

"The ones that are here, we need to kick on for next year's campaign."

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