Gary Harkins may have paved the way for Dundee’s exit from the Scottish Cup, but the Dark Blues would love to face him again next season.
Defender Craig McKeown was up against Harkins in Tuesday’s fourth-round replay at Rugby Park and watched as the Kilmarnock midfielder, who was supposed to have been suffering from a broken ankle, made a miraculous recovery to set up both of his side’s goals in a 2-1 victory.
He may have been cursing him that night but McKeown is determined that he and his team-mates hope to meet Harkins one a regular basis in the future, as that would mean Dundee will have clinched promotion to the SPL.
”You could say that he was actually the difference between the two sides as he had a hand in both goals,” conceded McKeown. ”That is what he is capable of and that is why he is in the SPL, where he is more than suited to playing at that level. That is the kind of standard we should be aiming for and hopefully we can achieve our aim and get there.
”On a personal level, I am delighted for Gary to be back playing when it looked as though he would be out for a while longer. But, at the same time, we were disappointed to go out and now we have to try and bounce back at the earliest opportunity.”
McKeown believes that almost matching Killie over two legs should give them plenty of belief that they can make this season a success in the First Division as they chase leaders Ross County.
He said: ”A cup run would have been nice but it wasn’t to be in the end. Our main priority all along has been the league, so it’s basically all or nothing now with regards to that.
”We’ll take each game as it comes between now and the end of the season and see where it takes us.
”We can take huge positives from the way we played against an SPL side over the two legs. It can hopefully spur us on as we know we face a very difficult trip to take on Partick Thistle on Saturday.”