NEIL McCann praised the impact of striker Sofien Moussa following his fine all-round display in the 3-0 win over Partick Thistle.

Moussa ended a goal drought that had started in September with two penalties at Dens Park that gave the Dee three important points at the expense of their relegation rivals.

It was not just the goals that caught the eye, however, with Moussa playing a key part in the build-up to the second goal – finished by Mark O’Hara – and proving a nuisance all day for the Jags defence.

He drew the foul for the first penalty before finishing coolly, and sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the spot for a second time after Daniel Devine committed a second foul inside the box.

Boss McCann was delighted to see his number nine make such an impact after he disappointed against Hearts on Tuesday night.

“He works so hard but I’m not going to stop believing in him,” he said. “He’s so important to the team.

“It would be easy to take him out of the side after Tuesday, but it would have been easy to change eight or nine guys so I decided to go with him up top and I thought his overall performance was fantastic.

“I think his overall performance was really effective, against at times three really uncompromising defenders in their attributes.”

O’Hara’s strike was his fourth in five games, highlighting his importance to this side, but his future remains unclear with his contract expiring in the summer.

McCann remains hopeful of keeping him, saying: “We’re just talking to him. I spoke to ‘Marko’ a wee bit ago so he knows where I see him. He’s so important to me because I’m trying to build something here and he will be a big part of that.”