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By Graeme Dey
GARY MACKENZIE revealed yesterday how Dundee’s revival under Jocky Scott allowed him the time to recover fully from the broken toe he sustained against St Johnstone in late September.
MacKenzie made his comeback at the weekend—coincidentally against Saints—after spending two months getting over the problem.
And he confessed that, such was his angst at the Dark Blues slump, prior to Scott taking over at Dens Park, he was in danger of rushing his recovery and risking a repeat of the injury.
“It was really annoying at the outset to be told I’d be out for so long with something as seemingly trivial as a broken toe,” he said.
“It seemed daft to be facing that sort of spell out for such a small thing. But I discovered from speaking to a few people who’ve had that sort of injury that if you don’t give it time to heal properly it keeps breaking throughout your career.
“Still, when I reached the point of walking again without any problem the thought ‘Well if I can walk surely I can get back now’ was there, especially with the team struggling.
“But the boys then started to do better which took the pressure off and I was able to do my rehab properly.’’
Despite being restored to full fitness, MacKenzie admitted he still approached his return to duty with slight trepidation.
“It was hard for myself coming into the team when it’s on a wee run,’’ he said.
“You fear that things might go wrong and when you look at what’s changed the answer would be, me.
“But after taking a wee while to get into the game we went on to do well. And with the benefit of hindsight, though we were disappointed at the time, a draw was all right.
“The second half against St Johnstone was as good as a Dundee team have played since I’ve been here.
“The atmosphere was also one of the best I’ve experienced at Dens.
“So there were a lot of positives to be taken from the match.
“And from a purely personal point of view, it was good to get through the 90 minutes without any repercussions. The toe is fine.”
MacKenzie has been hugely impressed by the impact Scott has had on the dressing room.
“Jocky is a good motivator and has got the place buzzing,” he said.
“He had a few strong words with us at half-time on Saturday because he wasn’t happy and you saw the result of that in our second half performance.
“But it’s not just motivation he’s strong on. He’s also a great coach.
“His training is top notch—short and intense.
“We’re also benefiting from the double training sessions he’s brought in because he needed to get to know us quickly and from the formation change he’s made which has made us harder to beat.”
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