Dundee boss James McPake has expressed his relief that he will not be banned from the dugout for Sunday’s clash with Celtic at Dens Park.
The 37-year-old was sent to the stand during the Dark Blues’ match with Aberdeen last month for throwing the ball away as Dons player Jack McKenzie won a throw-in.
It was the manager’s second red card of the season but after a SFA disciplinary hearing on Thursday, it was deemed no further action would be taken.
McPake said: “I think it was the right outcome. It was a fair hearing and I’m just glad I can be in the dugout this weekend.
“It’s tough when you are in the stands. I struggled with it when I had to do it against St Johnstone a few weeks ago.
“Thankfully things went in our favour and I will be able to be in my normal place on Sunday.”
Problems
McPake watched Celtic’s 3-2 win over Ferencvaros in the Europa League on TV on Thursday night and admitted he was impressed with what he saw.
However, the manager insists his side will also pose problems for the Hoops.
McPake said: “They play differently these days and will really hurt you if you’re not defensively sound.
Kyogo Furuhashi fires Celtic out of the blocks! ⚡️
Less than three minutes on the clock and Ange Postecoglou's side lead in Budapest!#UEL pic.twitter.com/Azq5TOKQ4u
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 4, 2021
“So, as a unit you need to be set up properly to deal with their threats.
“We have been working on it, we have a game plan to go out and stop it.
“But we have also been working on how we can hurt them when we create chances.
“We bounced back to a good level against St Mirren last week and we have to keep that going now.”
Jordan McGhee doubt
Dundee’s Cillian Sheridan was operated on yesterday after rupturing his Achilles against St Mirren last Saturday.
He will miss the Celtic game along with the injured Shaun Byrne and Alex Jakubiak, while on-loan Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths cannot play against his parent club.
McPake revealed another key player is doubtful to face the Hoops.
He manager added: “We are monitoring Jordan McGhee because he has an issue with his knee and we’ll use the break to get it sorted.”
