Banging on the door, banging on the door but no one opening up – that’s what Dundee’s season feels like right now.
The Dark Blues have been far from outclassed on their return to the Premiership after two years away.
However, they just can’t get over the line – whether that’s a result or simply the ball over the goal-line.
No wins in their opening six league matches, three home draws and three away defeats.
It’s not the fairytale return to the top-flight Dees were looking forward to.
The Dark Blues are bottom of the pile – but do the Opta stats tell us that’s likely to be a position they are in for long?
📊 After today's @cinchuk Premiership action, here's your updated league table! pic.twitter.com/YOszXMMBBE
— SPFL (@spfl) September 19, 2021
Shots, shots and more shots
Getting efforts on goal have not been a problem this term for the Dark Blues.
Getting those shots beyond the goalkeeper – or defenders, in Ryan Edwards’ case on Sunday – has been the big issue.
In their last three goalless matches, Dundee have had 46 shots on target without success.
Altering the way the league table is ordered from points gained to the above statistic, the Dark Blues sit in fourth.
In the outright shots list, James McPake’s side are sixth with 71 across their 540 minutes of Premiership football.
Ross County are bottom of that table on 43 efforts – fourth-placed Motherwell have managed just 49, 22 fewer than the Dark Blues but with eight more points to their name.
And that’s the problem everyone is aware of.
The numbers, though, make even more depressing reading for Dundee.
Four goals from 71 shots is less than 6% conversion rate – of the shots on target, only 12% have gone in with one of their four goals this term a Joe Shaughnessy og.
Motherwell for comparison have scored 41% of their shots on target.
Finisher
Dens boss McPake has obviously moved to correct the problem by bringing in Leigh Griffiths.
With 121 Premiership goals to his name, goals will surely come.
However, getting the Scotland striker involved proved a problem at Dundee United on Sunday.
The player connecting with Griffiths most was left-back Jordan Marshall – four passes, two crosses.
Concerning for McPake, however, is the fact Griffiths and Paul McGowan, the player tasked with getting closest to him in the first half, didn’t exchange a single pass.
Paul McMullan on the other side only found Griffiths with one pass in the 90 minutes, though the ball went in the other direction four times.
The frontman touched the ball just 20 times across the entire match, three of those, however, could easily have been goals.
Dundee boss James McPake: We have the power to hurt teams but we need to keep believing