Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Where to start with woeful Dark Blues
DUNDEE’S annihilation at the hands of Aberdeen was a disaster on so many levels, it’s difficult to know where to start.
First thing that occurred to me was, if you lose by seven to a side that’s playing as well as Celtic have been this season, it’s sore but you have to accept it’s something that can happen.
Decent as Aberdeen are, for Dundee to concede so many to them is totally unacceptable.
So, too, is the way the Dark Blues players chucked it during the game.
We’ve all had first-half disasters, it happens, but if you lose four goals in the first 45 minutes there is no way you should lose another three after the break.
You regroup at half-time and professional pride means you improve in the second half.
Dundee didn’t do that on Friday and, at this stage of the season, that has to be worrying for manager Paul Hartley.
He said after the game they’d worked hard on defending set-pieces because that was an area where Aberdeen are strong.
There was no sign of that in the performance and you could see from very early on the home players couldn’t cope when the ball was coming into their box.
It means Ross County tonight is not a game they’d pick as next up.
County have not been going well themselves but one thing they are is strong from crosses.
You can bet your life they will be throwing loads of high ball, into the Dundee box tonight. In fact, every team the Dark Blues play between now and the end of the season will adopt that as a tactic.
Another nightmare for Hartley, and one that’s lasted all season, is how inconsistent his team is.
On the surface it’s astonishing they can beat Rangers, show up well and only lose narrowly to Celtic, then be destroyed by Aberdeen in the manner they were.
It might just be because the manager gambled by signing a few players who were not regulars at their previous clubs.
The boys have talent but often you find the reason players like them don’t start every week is because they are inconsistent.
It’s something that has to be addressed now or Dundee could be facing Championship football.