It’s been a season to forget for everybody associated with Dundee Football Club.
Relegation was a long time coming, with the Dark Blues in the bottom two for the entire second half of the Premiership campaign.
There were, though, good results along the way. Not as many as Dees would like but some decent days.
Though the squad overall wasn’t good enough to stay in the top flight, there were stand-outs at Dens Park.
So who were the top three performers of the last campaign?
Charlie Adam
Skipper and talisman, there was no getting away from the star factor of having Adam leading the team.
At times he was hit and miss (we’ll not mention St Mirren) but he was pivotal to almost everything positive throughout the campaign.
Of the 11 matches Adam missed in the Premiership over the past season, Dundee only picked up two points – a 0-0 draw with Livingston and 1-1 draw at Motherwell.
The former Scotland midfielder racked up an incredible 14 bookings across the season but he brought a touch of class to the midfield, beyond the physicality.
Able to take an extra touch when others would hoof it, Adam eased the pressure on his side while the incredible long passing ability never left the 36-year-old.
And he showed at Dundee United and home to Hibs that left in space on the edge of the area, goalkeepers were in trouble.
Ryan Sweeney
After an unsteady start to life in Scotland, Dundee fans may have been surprised early on had anyone told them centre-back Sweeney would go on to win both Player of the Year awards.
But the double honour was more than deserved given how the 25-year-old grew in stature as the season progressed.
Lee Ashcroft’s absence meant the defence needed a dominant presence at the back. Sweeney stepped up with his no-nonsense approach to defending.
He also brought a real threat to set-piece at the other end of the pitch.
Sweeney finished the season with three goals but, considering the number of headers he had saved or cleared off the line, he probably fell short on that tally.
If the Dark Blues can keep Sweeney and Ashcroft fit and together, they have a strong base to start from next term.
Danny Mullen
Mullen, meanwhile, won’t be a Dundee player next season after turning down a contract extension.
But he’s been a top performer this term, finishing the campaign as top scorer with seven goals.
And often they were goals that earned results.
Winners against St Johnstone and Hearts, a goal in victory over Motherwell, as well as an equaliser against Aberdeen, and the first goal in a 2-0 comeback at Dundee United.
The only Mullen goals that didn’t lead to points were in two defeats to champions Celtic.
More than that, he led the line and ensured every defender knew they’d been in a battle. A bit more support and the goal tally would’ve been higher.
Honourable mentions: Cammy Kerr and Paul McMullan
In his testimonial year, Kerr was a standout at right and left-back in the second half of the campaign, even though results were going against the team.
McMullan, meanwhile, had a superb start to the season, racking up assist after assist, but form fell away alongside many of his team-mates.
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