New Dundee boss Jim McIntyre was given a stark indication of the task facing him as his first game in charge ended in a sorry 4-0 defeat to Livingston.
The Dark Blues were hoping for a change in fortunes at the Tony Macaroni Arena after axing Neil McCann on Tuesday.
But his replacement will now know why the Taysiders sit bottom of the table with just three points after seeing his new charges cut apart by four set-pieces.
Declan Gallagher, Craig Halkett, Steven Lawless and Alan Lithgow all netted to see the Lions maintain their unbeaten home run while moving back up to fourth place.
McCann’s departure from Dens Park and the subsequent arrival of McIntyre stole the headlines in the build-up to the match, ensuring Kenny Miller’s return to West Lothian barely merited a mention.
The former Rangers and Celtic hitman had a brief seven-game stint in charge of Livi at the start of the campaign before he was sacked over a disagreement about his player-manager role.
How sweet it would have been for the 38-year-old had his early opening found the net.
Calvin Miller led Dundee’s breakaway from a Livi corner, driving 60 yards up field before rolling the ball to Miller, but there was no retribution for the veteran as he swept just wide.
McCann’s porous side shipped 15 goals in their opening eight games and he paid for that miserable record with his job.
But it soon became clear that McIntyre will need longer than the three days he has been in charge so far to resolve that issue.
Livingston grabbed the opener 18 minutes in as a Keeghan Jacobs free-kick found Gallagher at the back post. Elliott Parish came for the cross but stopped in no-man’s land, leaving the defender to nod home.
Their second two minutes before the break was almost a carbon copy. Again Jacobs threw in a set-piece delivery and this time it was the entire Dark Blues defence which was posted missing as Halkett glanced the ball into the far corner.
Dee striker Sofien Moussa was demanding a penalty 20 minutes into the second period as he cut inside Lawless. The Tunisian insisted the ball had struck an arm but referee Nick Walsh was far from convinced.
Instead of a lifeline, it was game over for the visitors 14 minutes from time as they were undone by a free-kick yet again.
This time Lawless swung the ball in from wide on the right. Lithgow could not connect with his head but it made no difference as the delivery skipped all the way through into the net.
Lithgow did get his name on the score sheet in stoppage time as the centre-back bundled home at the back post from a Steven Lawson corner.
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