Dee drop to bottom

PLAYERRATINGS Dundee prop up the table after heavy defeat at Ibrox

AFTER five games without a win, Neil McCann’s Dundee have dropped to the bottom of the Premiership table, but the Dark Blues haven’t been as bad as the standings suggest, with Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Rangers proof there is a team with potential waiting to be unlocked.

Make no bones about it, the Ibrox side were good and deserved to win, but Dundee were far from awful. Yes, they struggled to deal with the movement and dynamism of the Gers in the final third, but after falling behind to an Alfredo Morelos strike late in the first-half they came out fighting for the second 45.

First Roarie Deacon and then Sofien Moussa could’ve grabbed an equaliser and it would have been no less than Dundee deserved for their early second-half efforts.

However, like the four league games previous, Dundee took their foot off the gas and drifted out of the game. They had their moments but failed to take their chances and Rangers punished them.

Late goals from subs Josh Windass and Carlos Pena, and another from Morelos, made the victory more handsome than it should have been.

The big Colombian Morelos, known as El Buffalo, bullied young centre-halves Kerr Waddell and Jack Hendry — who otherwise had good games. In fact, the rookie duo have enjoyed solid campaigns overall so far. They do, however, need an experienced head in beside them.

With captain Darren O’Dea out injured, stand-in skipper Cammy Kerr led by example and was Dundee’s best player by a stretch. Characteristically, he threw himself into challenges and tried to drive his side on from the back.

Scott Allan never looked at the races and it came as no surprise when he was hooked before half-time.Whatever he tried didn’t come off and he was clearly still feeling the effects of a groin strain.

His replacement AJ Leitch-Smith impressed on his debut, linking up well with Moussa and Faissal El Bakhtaoui up top. However, Dundee are crying out for goals, and whether he can provide them remains to be seen.

El Bakhtaoui was, once again, erratic but worked hard enough. He was deserving of his goal even if the late strike was merely consolation for Dundee. With Moussa still struggling for fitness and form, the pressure is on the French-Moroccan to deliver.

Another league debutant, Lewis Spence, didn’t look out of place in the Premiership having never experienced top-tier football before. He is a player Neil likes and it is evident to see why. The ex-Brechin and Dunfermline man was industrious, a bit raw, but played with his head up.

The Dark Blues need a result sooner rather than later and face a tough task on Saturday when St Johnstone visit Dens Park. The Perth side are riding high and sitting third in the table, unbeaten in the early stages.

It is perhaps not the ideal game for Dundee to break their duck but they can’t exactly be picky at this moment in time.

A win could be transformative. Confidence is clearly low but they are showing small signs of improvement every week as, what is basically a completely new team, continues to gel

There is no need to push the panic button yet but it won’t be long before the natives get restless.