Dee have fifth-highest wage bill in Premiership

DUNDEE players are the fifth highest average wage earners in the Scottish Premiership, according to a new report.

The 2016 Sporting Intelligence Global Sports Salaries Survey puts the average annual basic first team pay for the Dark Blues at £61,837.

That is £25,000 less than the next biggest payers, Hearts.

Unsurprisingly, Celtic top the charts, with a figure of £717,860. Rangers are less than half that, at £316,888.

The survey also brings into focus the achievement of St Johnstone in being a regular top six club, as their average wage is third lowest in the Premiership, less than £5,000 more than bottom club, Hamilton Accies.

It only takes in the Premiership, so Dundee United are not included.

The research, which considers the pay of nearly 10,000 sportsmen around the world in 17 leagues across seven sports, suggests Scottish Premiership clubs are some of the worst payers in world sport.

Seven SPFL Premiership sides occupy the bottom seven places among the 333 teams surveyed, with Hamilton’s average salary of £42,606 ensuring they prop up the list.

Manchester United spend the most on wages in football according to the survey, with players picking up an average of £5,770,000, but are only fourth on the list behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (£6.5m), New York Yankees (£5.8m) and LA Clippers (£5.7m).

Scottish Premiership average annual first-team pay: Celtic £717,860, Rangers £316,888, Aberdeen £134,670, Hearts £86,890, Dundee £61,837, Inverness £53,345, Motherwell £49,335, Kilmarnock £48,950, Ross County £47,515, St Johnstone £47,206, Partick Thistle £42,671, Hamilton £42,606.

Central defender Kevin Gomis is back in contention for Dundee.