Dundee were superb against Motherwell at the weekend.
It probably surprised a lot of people around the country to see them win 3-0 against the high-flying Steelmen.
But that type of performance has been coming from James McPake’s side.
There were a few games at the start of the season where the Dark Blues did well but lost out in the end.
And the trip to Fir Park to face Motherwell was a prime example.
Dundee were by far the better side there but lost.
People have been pretty quick to get negative about the Dee this season because of their league position.
Difference on Saturday
The difference on Saturday was the ability to finish their opposition off – Dundee took their chances and made it an easy afternoon’s work.
A big part of that has been the progression of summer signing Luke McCowan.
At the start of the season you could see he was still adapting to life in the top-flight, what is needed to go and beat a full-back in this league.
Now, though, he’s involved in goals and has been a really good addition.
Then there’s Danny Mullen, another who has improved greatly.
He looks better in the Premiership this season than he did in the Championship last term.
That speaks volumes for him.
I think manager McPake deserves a bit of credit for that, too.
You don’t just bring in guys like Leigh Griffiths and Jason Cummings for their ability alone.
You want to see the players already in the squad up their game, too – competition for places in a nutshell.
There has to be the right environment created for that to work, too.
Mullen was always renowned for his work ethic on the pitch and being a team player but he’s adding real quality at the top end now, something that was questioned at times.
Tables turned after last St Johnstone meeting
Dundee are playing well and, crucially, picking up results along the way.
With St Johnstone at Dens on Wednesday they have a chance to continue the good feeling and get themselves up the table.
What they can also do is put right the really poor day they had at McDiarmid Park in September.
They changed the system that afternoon and it didn’t work, it didn’t suit the players and it was a bad day all round.
This time, though, Saints will be changing to combat Dundee.
That’s a huge difference in mindset for both sides.
And it’s credit to everyone at Dens for getting over that result and the Ross County defeat so well.
Ashcroft a huge blow
It looks like they’ll have to do without Lee Ashcroft, though.
That’s massive, he’s a hugely important part of the Dundee side.
And they don’t have a huge amount of cover, particularly with so many games coming up.
Hopefully, it’s not as bad as feared and the confidence in the team means they can cope well enough in his absence.
There are crucial matches coming up over the next few weeks – the worst time to lose such a key defender.
