Winless and bottom of the Premiership, this has not been the start to the season Neil McCann was looking for. Courier Sports writer Neil Robertson pinpoints the areas of improvement needed from Dundee to turn their campaign around.
1 At the risk of stating the blooming obvious . . . tighten up at the back.
The four goals Dundee conceded at Ibrox on Saturday means they have now let in 12 in five league games.
Young centre-halves Jack Hendry and Kerr Waddell have done well but experienced skipper Darren O’Dea should return for Saturday’s game against St Johnstone. I would even be tempted to move Kevin Holt forward into left midfield and bring Spaniard Jon Aurtenetxe in at left-back.
2 Stating the blooming obvious, the sequel . . . score more goals.
The Dark Blues have only hit the back of the net four times in five Premiership games so far. Manager Neil McCann has been hampered by injuries to his front men with last season’s main striker Marcus Haber out long term with a thigh injury.
Sofien Moussa was rushed back at Ibrox and will take some time to get up to pace once again after being out for just over a month. The Tunisian hit five goals in his first three games, albeit against lower league opposition, and McCann will be hoping he can rediscover that scoring touch.
Faissal El Bakhtaoui has netted some crackers in his time at Dens but overall he needs to show more composure to become a regular scorer at this level.
3 Find a way to get the best out of Scott Allan.
The midfielder was McCann’s first signing of the summer on loan from Celtic. At the time, it looked like a real coup, especially when taking into account what the former Dundee United player did during his time at Hibs.
However, Dundee fans are yet to see the very best from Allan and he was substituted before half-time at Ibrox on Saturday with his manager saying the player had a groin problem.
The bigger problem seems to be that Allan is being asked to play on the left while his natural inclination is to be in the middle dictating matters.
4 Get a win – any win.
McCann and his players insisted after the Rangers game that no-one was hitting the panic button at Dens despite the poor start to the league campaign.
However, the longer the winless run continues, the pressure will surely start to mount. That can quickly become a vicious circle with players nervous and terrified of making a mistake.
So the sooner Dundee can get the monkey off their backs, the better. Third-placed St Johnstone are next up at Dens which looks a daunting prospect but Tommy Wright’s side are beatable. It is an old cliché but the Dark Blues really need to treat this Tayside derby like a cup final.
5 Secure some home comfort.
How often do we hear that other old cliché about turning a home venue into a “fortress”? Well, fortress Dens must be built on sand.
The last time the Dark Blues won a league game at the famous old ground was back in February against Rangers. McCann would no doubt point out that has no relevance to this season but there is no getting away from the fact that Dundee’s recent home record is poor.
Unless they can turn that around, it is certain to be a long, hard season once again.
