Scott Tiffoney played like a player with a point to prove at St Mirren on Saturday.
The winger left Partick Thistle in the summer to play Premiership football, joining Dundee to do just that.
However, he was left on the bench for the opening day of the season at home to Motherwell.
And then had to wait until an hour had passed in Paisley before he got his chance from Tony Docherty.
Though he wasn’t able to inspire his new side to a comeback against St Mirren, Tiffoney did set up a goal for team-mate Josh Mulligan and provided the spark that gave Dundee a chance.
Reaction
And boss Docherty reckons his performance will spur him on in games to come.
“Tiff trained all week and I got exactly the reaction I wanted from someone who had been left out,” the Dundee boss said.
“He started great in pre-season then had a wee dip, he had a wee injury actually.
“But he trained brilliantly last week and I always intended to get him on at some stage (against St Mirren).
“And he didn’t disappoint.
“I was really pleased with his performance and his confidence.
“He’ll take that going forward.”
Second nature
Tiffoney coming on in the second half came after a change in formation that brought Dundee more joy.
St Mirren had dominated the first period, running up a 2-0 lead.
Docherty was pleased with the response from his side in the second half but taking chances remains an issue.
“The change helped us, we got our full-backs on the ball and we got Tiffoney and McCowan higher up the pitch,” he added.
St Mirren are top of the table! A 2-1 win over Dundee – who missed a penalty – sees the Buddies make it two wins from two ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/5czivFn25S
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) August 12, 2023
“We created more of a problem for St Mirren.
“But when we have that dominance, there has to be a responsibility collectively that we do need to take these opportunities.
“Because if we don’t then that’s what costs us.”
So how do you improve that?
“We’ve got to just keep working hard. We have to keep the belief,” Docherty explained.
“We analyse everything, we’re big on analysing our own performances.
“I’m trying to create a culture at the club where you try and improve everything every day.
“The players will come in in the morning, train and they’ll look at their performance. There is a real honesty about the group.
“They are a conscientious bunch.
“We just keep working at it and eventually it becomes second nature.”
Antonio Portales
Meanwhile, it’s been confirmed that Dundee will be without defender Antonio Portales for between five and six weeks.
The Mexican pulled up with a knee ligament injury after just six minutes of his Premiership debut at home to Motherwell.
Thanks to a free weekend coming up with the League Cup knockouts taking centre stage and an international break in September, he could be missing for just four matches.
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