EXCLUSIVE: Dundee No 9 Amadou Bakayoko – I want more goals but wins are vital

He’s got one Dundee goal – he wants more.

Dens Park No 9 Amadou Bakayoko got off the mark for his new club at St Johnstone at the weekend and isn’t content to stop there.

It was a big goal for the Sierra Leone international.

Not only the first for his new club but his first of 2023 and first league strike since last October.

After scoring 13 times in League One for Bolton Wanderers in 2021/22, Bakayoko had a tough time last season.

He managed four goals for Bolton before moving to struggling Forest Green in January. Those struggles continued under Duncan Ferguson and they finished rock bottom of the division.

Now, though, he has a fresh start north of the border and a first goal to his name in dark blue.

Boost

Though some outlets gave the goal to Scott Tiffoney, Bakayoko’s exuberant celebration told the real story.

“It was definitely my goal!” the striker exclusively told Courier Sport.

“We practiced that in training. I headed it in a good direction and it went in.

“There was a VAR check and there was a bit of worry, I think if Tiff had touched it it might have been offside.

“Thankfully it wasn’t.

“It’s massively important to get off the mark.

“It gives everyone a boost, it certainly gives me a boost.

“I want to get more, I want to score as many as I can.

“And hopefully we get wins on top of them.”

‘Hurts’

That’s the crux of things at McDiarmid Park – an impressive performance for 80 minutes that saw Dundee seemingly cruising to victory at 2-0 up.

However, they let that lead slip and came away with just a draw after two late St Johnstone goals.

“It’s always a positive getting a goal though it would have been sweeter with a win,” Bakayoko added.

“It was frustrating coming away with just a point, it felt like a loss.

“But it did show the quality and fight that we do have.

“We got caught short with a bit of concentration at the end.

“It definitely hurts and we have to learn for sure.

“We gave ourselves a two-goal lead and we should really and truly be coming away with three points.”

‘Threat’

While there are improvements to be made, Bakayoko does feel the future is bright at Dens Park under Tony Docherty.

And they’ll certainly have to improve if they are to get anything from Celtic Park when they return to Premiership action next weekend.

Bakayoko added: “Obviously the manager has us working hard, we’re doing really well at the minute.

“But I still feel there is a lot of improvement to be made. We can be a lot better and more of a threat to the league.

“We are on the right track at the minute, though, and we’re raring to go for the next one.”