Dundee deserve their place in the Premiership’s top six.
The league table, as they say, does not lie.
It is a massive achievement for the club, one that wasn’t expected at the start of the season.
And there has been nothing lucky about it – they have won more points in 32 games than Hibs and the rest of the bottom six have managed in 33.
There has been a resilience about Tony Docherty’s team this season.
If they have a setback, they respond really well.
Response
Dundee did that at the weekend.
Not only from letting their lead slip against Motherwell the previous week, but also from the days leading up to the Aberdeen trip.
Every man and his dog seemed to be taking a pot shot at the Dark Blues over their pitch.
The club had to take it all on the chin, it is their pitch after all.
The players and their manager handled it all perfectly, though.
They responded on the park and showed what a good team has been built at Dens.
Philippe Clement
Docherty certainly handled the whole pitch debacle better than his counterparts.
Other managers haven’t handled it so well and you can see it in the results.
Docherty kept the focus only on the football.
He kept a distance between all the unimportant stuff, stuck to the stuff that really mattered – and got the job done.
Other managers should take note.
I wrote in a previous column, when the first Dundee-Rangers game was called off, that I didn’t buy Clement’s gripe about the lack of communication from Dundee and it affecting his preparations.
The lesson there is one most managers will know – you prepare normally up until the point the game is called off.
Ross County
I don’t see Dundee’s pitch being a reason for Rangers losing focus.
If anything, the team should have been fresher for avoiding a midweek game on a heavy surface.
Rangers are a big enough club and have such quality in their side that they shouldn’t let things like that get to them.
It was a strange admission from the Rangers manager.
Dundee players had the same sort of preparations ahead of the weekend but still managed to get the result they needed.
Full credit to Tony Docherty, he’s built a team with real balance to it.
Normally newly-promoted sides concentrate on their defence and play cautiously.
But this Dundee side play some really nice stuff.
Now they have achieved top six, they’ll be able to attract even better players next term.
There are still six games to go, though, and fifth place is in their sights.
I don’t see any players in that squad easing off now.
First up, this Rangers clash could be feisty – it’s a great chance for the Dee to show what they can do.
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