By Ian Roache

PRIDE SHOULD have been the only thing on Gary MacKenzie’s mind when he led Dundee out the last time they visited New Douglas Park.

He had just been handed the armband by manager Alex Rae and named as one of the club’s youngest captains at the age of 20.

Instead, MacKenzie remembers being more concerned about the artificial playing surface, which had water sprinkled on it before the match.

And his fears were justified when he came unstuck by the underfoot conditions on that sunny August day.

“That was where I picked up that problem with my ankle at the start of the season,” he recalled.

“There wasn’t much give in the plastic pitch and, because of the way I landed, it sent a shudder through my joints.

“I think football should be played on grass and I am sure everybody would say the same thing.

“I am not too happy about the park, although I suppose it is the same for them.

“Anyway, there is not much we can do about it. We just have to go down there and try our best to get a good result.

“There is certainly no danger of me not playing because of the nature of the pitch.

“In fact, I am absolutely desperate to play as it is a chance to put on a decent display following a poor game last time around.”

The match he refers to is, of course, the 4-1 home hammering at the hands of Clyde.

MacKenzie and his team-mates watched a re-run of that humiliation earlier in the week and it made for painful viewing.

“Nobody had a good game against Clyde so we are all in the same boat,” he said.

“We watched the video and it was obvious that we gave away the goals too cheaply.

“We just weren’t ourselves and Clyde looked hungrier than us.

“We are normally the ones who are in people’s faces right from the start but not this time.

“We just didn’t perform but hopefully we will make up for it against Hamilton.

“Hopefully, we will prove it was just a wee blip in form.”

MacKenzie has reportedly been interesting SPL side Inverness Caley Thistle, who will lose defensive stalwart Darren Dods to Dundee United in the summer.

However, he seems content with his lot just now.

“I am happy as a Dundee player and I will be even happier if we can get a result against Hamilton,” he said.

“Anyone who has been watching us over the last two months will see we have improved a lot and been very solid.

“Other than the Scottish Cup tie down at Queen of the South and the Clyde league game, we have only lost three goals over seven league games.

“We have been scoring as well, which we weren’t doing at the start of the season, and that just comes from an understanding.

“The players have been playing together now for about six months and starting to come together.

“We are a young team and with young players comes a lot of excitement and buzz about the club.

“Of course, I want to be part of it.

“We have been getting some good reviews and everyone is just gutted that we let ourselves down so much against Clyde.

“That’s life, though, and we will take it on the chin and get on with things.”

In his usual place alongside MacKenzie in defence will be Gary Smith, who has recovered from a bout of flu. Paul Dixon should return to left-back following suspension.

Rae has told his players they may have to grind out a good result today.

“Hamilton are a decent side with some excellent players so it won’t be easy for us,” he said.

“So we will have to work hard and, hopefully, we can get the Clyde game out of our system.”

Hamilton have been boosted by the news that defender Mark McLaughlin has come through an exploratory operation on his groin and that he has been told there is no further damage.

McLaughlin has not played since October and manager Billy Reid said, “He can continue his rehabilitation work and we are hopeful he will be playing before the end of the season.”

However, Marvyn Wilson and David McEwan are joining him on the sidelines today but Reid adds 17-year-old James Gibson.

Reid said, “He is another of our young players. It is the way to go for this club and for most other clubs. If the fans are not coming through the gates to justify high wages then we have got to bring on our own young players.”