Big plans so long faces?

sense Dundee under Keyes have been victims of their own successes.

By their admission, when Paul Hartley guided the team back to the top flight four years ago promotion had come a yearly earlier than expected. It meant the club was not quite geared up for the Premiership return but it didn’t stop them securing a top-six finish in the first season back. That’s meant the recent struggles have been disappointing.

Taking a step back, frustrations over that are probably harsh. Welcome as the high finish two years ago was, the reality was always that the first few seasons in the top tier would be a struggle.

While the plan has to be to set sights higher in the future, right now finishing anywhere above the relegation places represents success for Dundee.

The challenge for the owners is getting fans to buy into that and stick with their team. As the latest financial statement shows, that’s not proving easy.

Results for the year to the end of May 2017 show a loss of £354,000 and further losses for this year and beyond are anticipated. A better TV deal in the future would help but more worrying was the admission an increase in the home support is needed to put Dundee in a break-even position.

The club reckon they have a hard core following of around 3500 but need it to jump to 4500. Given the mood of fans right now, that’s not going to be easy.

the club forward after three seasons in the top flight.