Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
I’ve massive St Johnstone
ALTHOUGH it’s been an up-and-down season, Dundee have still pulled off some headline-grabbing victories in the Premiership.
They finished off last month with a stunning display that saw them 5-1 up at Motherwell by half-time and the previous weekend earned deserved plaudits for the 2-1 success against Rangers.
Going a little further back, just before Christmas the rest of the top flight sat up and took notice as they blasted back from two goals down to beat Hearts on a dramatic night at Dens.
But ask midfielder Paul McGowan what the best win so far was and he reckons he might just nominate the 3-0 success last time tomorrow’s opponents St Johnstone were faced.
And the fact it largely passed under the radar is, he believes, just another sign of most of Scottish football’s failure to recognise what he rates as a remarkable success story.
“The last game against them we won here 3-0 and they weren’t that great by their own standards.
“But 3-0 against St Johnstone is a great result. They don’t lose many games and, even if they do, they don’t often lose three goals.”
As those words suggest, he has massive respect for Saints and admits he can’t quite understand why they don’t get more recognition.
“Every year they prove people wrong. They always get in the top six and it’s remarkable the way they go about their business.
“They may not be the prettiest team to watch but they get the job done and I’m a big admirer of the work Tommy Wright has done there over his three or four years.
“They might not get the credit they deserve but, from their point of view, who cares? They’ve been in the top six for three or four years now and they’ve won a cup.
“They are a great side and I speak highly of them, we know going there this weekend is not going to be easy and, after losing three to us last time, they will have a point to prove.”
Of course, for McGowan t hat admiration for Saints will be put on hold the minute he crosses the white line at McDiarmid Park.
His focus will be on helping get the three points Dundee need to boost their own top-six challenge, as well as to keep the teams in the relegation zone at arm’s length.