Leigh Griffiths has been having a tough time of it.
Not just in the past week, though it will have been worse than most, but for a few years now.
It’s been pretty obvious that he’s had troubles, some of his own making.
So I was surprised to see the article by Kris Boyd attacking Griffiths for not caring.
It was all a bit personal, and that’s what got me.
Guys like Boyd and myself, as well as plenty of others who give an opinion in the media, should definitely be allowed to criticise. I mean, we all have opinions on football.
But it’s not on to go after someone who’s clearly had a tough time.
The way I see it is Griffiths is at Dundee to get his career back on track.
So to get stuck into him so early without giving him the opportunity to do that is poor.
I mean, if we get to the end of the season and things haven’t gone well, Griffiths hasn’t applied himself or whatever, then it’s understandable.
But you’ve got to give him a chance.
To be clear, I’m not defending Griffiths for everything he’s done.
But I’m for giving people a chance to show they can do better.
Saturday demonstrated his mentality
Purely about on-pitch matters, it’s obvious the striker needs time before he’ll be firing on all cylinders at Dundee.
That’ll take a lot of work from Griffiths himself too.
What told me he can make it work is that he played on Saturday.
He clearly had an ankle injury, something manager James McPake had mentioned.
Another player could easily have called off with that, knowing the kind of hostile reception they were going to get from the Rangers fans.
He will have known exactly what was waiting for him.
But he endured it anyway because he wants to play and wants to revive his career.
He’ll be frustrated as well that things haven’t gone right for him on the pitch so far.
No matter how good a player you are, you don’t suddenly get your sharpness back after months without playing.
You just have to keep going.
With that comes frustration too, as he misses chances and can’t quite do the things he used to so easily.
Dee can’t lose heart
Part of that frustration is the troubles Dundee as a team are having in front of goal.
It’s a remarkable run they are on with no goals in five games.
But the stranger thing is they are actually playing well.
Bottom of the league and not scoring any goals, most teams would be worried.
But I’m not too concerned because they are doing a lot right, they just need that finishing touch.
Once Griffiths is up to speed, they should have that.
And don’t forget Charlie Adam is to come back as well after his injury.
The task for McPake now is just to keep his players doing what they’ve been doing and not allowing them to lose heart.
Things will turn for them.
Next is St Johnstone away which will be difficult but they are good enough to go there and win – they need to believe that, though.
Confidence soaring for United boss Tam Courts
We saw yet another very decent performance from Tam Courts’ Dundee United side.
It’s been a tremendous start for the new manager.
And they were more than deserving of their point at Celtic Park on Sunday – the first result there since 2013.
What was most encouraging for me is you can see the style Courts wants them to play with coming through – with and without the ball.
It’s quite clear there are things they’ve been working on too.
I felt during the derby they lacked a bit of composure after winning the ball back – both teams did to be fair.
But against Celtic they pressed really well.
What stood out more, though, was the way they kept the ball once they won it back.
They kept it and then started progressing forward.
It certainly looked like something they’ve been working on.
That’ll give Courts plenty of confidence, knowing things they are working on in
training are improving on the pitch.
I must say that, though United were very good, Celtic were well short of a team you’d expect at Parkhead.
Devoid of leadership, they had Joe Hart as captain and I’m not a fan of a goalkeeper getting the armband.
That’s not United’s problem, however.
And they were unlucky not to get more with the penalty decision that didn’t go their way.
Scotland quality on show for clubs
Scotland games are coming around again sharpish but I’m not expecting big changes from Steve Clarke.
He’s got a pretty settled squad now and I don’t think there will be many surprises for the games against Israel and the Faroe Islands.
The good thing is we have real quality players playing at a high level for their clubs.
It was great to see John McGinn performing so well at Old Trafford up against Scott McTominay.
It’s all about transferring that form to the international stage now for guys like McGinn.
Lee Wilkie’s column features in the Evening Telegraph every Tuesday.