Last updated on .From the section Scottish Premiership

A hat-trick from striker Kenny Miller earned Jim McIntyre his first victory as Dundee manager as they hammered Hamilton Academical at Dens Park.

Miller struck from close range in the first half before curling in two goals from the edge of the box in the second.

Jesse Curran scored Dundee's third with the help of a deflection.

It means McIntyre's side move to within a point of St Mirren in 11th and earned only their second league victory of the season in 15 games.

It also moves them to within five points of Hamilton, who remain 10th.

Miller's goal haul means he has scored more than a third of his side's league goals, and has five in his last three games.

Miller shows calm head to earn vital win

It has been a turbulent season for Miller. After his abrupt departure as player/manager of Livingston, he joined a Dundee side, then managed by Neil McCann, in all kinds of trouble.

Results had not improved much under McIntyre, but the striker's finishing prowess and composure stood out in a frantic encounter.

In the opening quarter, both teams fought for possession but yielded it all too easily in their haste to create, and befitting the tempo, early chances were snatched at.

For Dundee, Paul McGowan teed up Glen Kamara and then Curran in the centre of the box, but both fluffed their opportunities, while James Keatings' early shot for Hamilton was saved.

And it was fitting that it was the 38-year-old Miller who provided the calmness required to net the opener, helped by the brilliance of Kamara.

After controlling the ball on the edge of the box, the Finland forward nicked it past one defender before selling a dummy to another, and his deft pass was latched onto by Miller, who lifted into the net.

But Miller needed no help for his second just minutes after the break, as he controlled the ball 20 yards out, shifted it onto his right foot and curled a sumptuous effort into the corner.

Hamilton had plenty of pressure, but they lacked precision in the final third. Keatings was a whisker away from an equaliser before the break after a winding dribble from Mickel Miller set him up, and Keatings' free-kick at 2-0 had the Dundee defence scrambling.

But it was clear it was not going to be their night when Curran's deflected shot from inside the box took the ball past Jan Mucha with just over 20 minutes left.

And Miller ensured he would be take home the match ball 10 minutes later when he showed his nous to intercept the ball 25 yards out, drop the shoulder to bamboozle his markers and curl another beauty low past Mucha.

Miller's hat-trick earned manager McIntyre his first win as Dundee boss

'Dundee turn a corner'- analysis

BBC Scotland's Jim Spence at Dens Park

Dundee went into the game knowing defeat would leave them 11 points adrift of their visitors.

With just one win in 14 league games, confidence levels were short, but a point at Easter Road against Hibernian on their last league outing pointed in the right direction.

Dundee looked an improved outfit with a much livelier appetite and work rate. The goal threat from Miller is also starting to crystallise, with those goals taking his tally to five, all in the last three games.

They had gone into the game with only eight goals to their credit so this four-goal haul is a real indication that a corner may have been turned. The clean sheet from a defence which had conceded 32 goals also augurs well in the fixtures ahead.

'It was a must win for us'- reaction

Dundee striker Kenny Miller: "I talked about it being a must win for us so we knew we needed to put in a performance.

"Since the manager came in we're seeing a better level of performance, a better work ethic and a better understanding of what he wants. The appetite to work hard for each other, to get forward, to get back and defend, it's the team moving together."

Hamilton manager Martin Canning: "The goals we conceded are just so easy from our point of view. We got so many opportunities in the final third to put the ball in the box and we just lacked quality at both ends of the pitch. We didn't have anyone who stepped up in the final third."