Dundee’s Martin Boyle insists he is determined to keep his place in the side despite the imminent comebacks of two more experienced strikers.
The 20-year-old has been ever-present for the Dark Blues since Paul Hartley took over as manager at the start of last month, with the player’s pace proving a potent weapon in the Dundee attacking arsenal.
However, he knows he cannot afford to rest on his laurels with Steven Doris and former Scotland striker Craig Beattie edging closer to full fitness.
Boyle said: “There’s definitely going to be a lot of competition for places up front with Beattie and Doris coming back. That can help everyone push on and hopefully push us towards the title.
“Nobody will be wanting to lose their place. We will all be trying our hardest and it will make us all that bit hungrier.
“I thrive on the challenge and I want to keep my place.”
Dundee didn’t have a game last weekend because of the Scottish Cup and Hartley gave the players a couple of days off after a hard week’s training.
Boyle revealed that the close-knit Dark Blues squad decided to have an overnight bonding session and he ended up sharing a room with Beattie, an experience he found interesting to say the least.
Boyle said: “I think we would have liked to have kept going. But we had a wee bonding session among the lads last Thursday night.
“It’s good to get the feet up and just come back in ready to work hard for the run-in. We’ve got a good spirit here. It’s a great bunch of lads and the team chemistry is second-to-none.
“I was sharing a room with Craig Beattie. It was an experience, to be honest. He’s just mental but a great lad at the same time!
“You’ve got to give him some banter back as he likes to give it out.”
While Dundee were without a game, their nearest promotion rivals Hamilton and Falkirk could only draw in their respective matches.
Boyle admitted it all worked out well for the Dark Blues and they will now look to take full advantage when they travel to Livingston on Saturday.
Boyle said: “I’m sure all the boys were sitting watching the results come in on Saturday.
“They are probably the best results we could have hoped for. But it’s all about what we do at the end of the day.
“We’ll just push on this week. “Livi is not an easy place to go and they’ve been a bit of a bogey team this season.
“It’s all up to us so hopefully we can kick on again.”