I fully expect Dundee to get stronger as the season progresses.
Sunday’s win at St Johnstone, though not always pretty, was a big one for Tony Docherty and his men.
He clearly had a game plan in place – try to hit Saints hard at the start and blow them out of the water.
Their style probably suits the game going on longer while Dundee have shown they aren’t good at sitting on leads this term.
So it couldn’t have worked any better.
It was a strange game but Dundee just needed a win to get over the derby and some of their recent form.
It was vital.
Especially when you look at the other results around the league with Ross County and Hearts winning.
The points are on the board and that’s thanks to key men stepping up again.
Simon Murray has four goals in three games now.
More importantly he’s opened the scoring in the past three games.
Set them on their way to victory at St Mirren then put Dundee in a great position in the derby and Sunday kicked off a big win.
That’s massive, especially with the injuries struggles right now.
Start to get players back fit and some new signings in the door and Dundee will be in a decent place.
They need new faces but it’s a difficult window and right now they have what they have.
It’s hard when your centre-backs are dropping like flies.
The defence is obviously a big problem that needs some work this month.
During intense sections of the season like this one where there are games coming thick and fast you can rotate midfielders and forwards quite happily with no real issue.
It’s not the same in defence, though.
You want a settled backline, the players building that working relationship on the park.
They’ve not had too much of that lately.
However, I do have to credit the three who played on Sunday and in the derby.
Clark Robertson has gone above and beyond by coming straight back into the team after his injury and playing two full games back-to-back.
Ryan Astley too is becoming a really consistent performer.
And massive credit to Luke Graham.
He’s a young player who has been out on loan before being thrown right into the deep end in a derby.
He dealt with it well, though he could have done better for the winning goal, and will learn from the experience.
But he’s stepped up a level from the Championship and has basically come into a completely new team. He’s not been training with Dundee for months but suddenly comes back and is thrust right into action. Fair play to the kid.
Now he has an even bigger test on Thursday when Rangers come calling.
Dundee have a chance in this one – Rangers’ away form has shown they concede goals.
It’ll be very tough but it’s also winnable.
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