Dundee goal hero Simon Murray has been labelled a “manager’s dream” by teammate Paul McGowan.
Murray lit up Firhill with a late double last Saturday as the Dark Blues dug in for victory against a Partick Thistle side that had looked to be on course to take three points.
It was a fantastic result, the magnitude of which will not be measured until the dust has settled on the Premiership season.
It was also terrific to see a player, who perhaps does not get the plaudits he deserves at times, reap such a rich reward for his refusal to give up despite missing chances.
Murray may not be everybody’s cup of tea but McGowan insists it is taking the biscuit to do anything other than see him as a great addition to the squad.
Indeed, McGowan is backing him to carry on where he left off in Maryhill when Motherwell visit Dens Park this afternoon.
The midfielder said of the striker: “I was delighted for Simon because he missed a great chance beforehand but never let his head go down.
“He works so hard and is probably a manager’s dream.
“He might not score all the time but he is always in the right place at the right time when the chances do come around.
“It doesn’t get any better than that – scoring a last-minute winner.
“Simon is a lovely boy, who has come here and fitted in really well.
“He’s got on with everybody from the first minute.
“He has an infectious personality and that side of things has rubbed off on everyone.
“Simon works his socks off no matter how things are going for him and you can’t ask for any more than that.
“I think his workrate makes him stand out from a lot of other strikers. You don’t normally get that from them.
“But you’ve got to remember he can finish as well,” added McGowan.
“People are maybe forgetting that before he came here on loan he had scored 14 goals for Hibs when he was in and out of the team.
“That’s not a bad ratio at all and now he’s grabbed two goals for Dundee.
“People are always going to pick holes in your game.
“Critics will say he doesn’t do this well or doesn’t do that well but that goes for every player.”
Murray’s magic ensured that, instead of the gloom and doom that would have greeted a defeat, there has been a feelgood factor at the club all week.
McGowan confirmed: “It has definitely given the whole place a lift.
“I didn’t think it was one of our greatest performances but it just shows you the fighting spirit we have here.
“We have probably been questioned on that over the season so I was delighted because it was a sore one we had taken down at Kilmarnock just before that, losing 3-2 to 10 men.
“That defeat knocked the stuffing out of us and you could see how much it hurt the boys.
“We’ve played well in games and maybe not got the results we deserved, like the last time down at Partick earlier in the season when they beat us late on despite us wiping the floor with them.
“Maybe we got that wee rub of the green this time around.
“I was delighted for the manager and the boys because it’s been a roller-coaster this season, up and down most weeks.
“Now we just want to kick on and try to take care of this game with Motherwell which will be very tough.
“We had umpteen chances against them in Scottish Cup tie recently which we didn’t take and they won here 2-0 in the end.
“Clearly, the goals we conceded were poor.
“That was another one that got away as far as we’re concerned but that’s football and you just need to go and deal with it.”
