George Cran

DJ upping the tempo in battle to be top of the pops at Dens Park

WHAT had looked one of the toughest decisions a manager in the Championship had to make this season is suddenly becoming fairly simple.

Dundee United have Lawrence Shankland and Queen of the South have Stephen Dobbie – even if he’s not hitting his usual heights yet this campaign – but I’d say it’s James McPake’s Dundee that have the biggest strength in depth at the top end of the pitch.

Choosing between Kane Hemmings, Danny Johnson and Andrew Nelson looked a welcome tester for the Dens gaffer.

However, at the moment it’s Johnson who is leaving the other pair in his wake.

Among all the fanfare of the returning hero Hemmings and his scoring record in his first stint at the club in a higher division, it was all but assumed he’d take on the mantle of No 1 striker.

Andrew Nelson ended last season as the Dark Blues’ most dangerous goal threat and has been praised continually by his manager.

That’s not translated into chances on the pitch, it must be said.

That isn’t down to anything other than he’s behind the other two in the pecking order, though.

An obvious favourite in the stands due to his never-ending workrate and ability to score goals out of very

George Cran Column little, Nelson has had to be patient since netting twice in the season opener at Raith Rovers in July.

He grabbed an important one off the bench to beat Ayr United and did well despite the scoreline when coming on as a sub in the derby.

At the minute, he’s having to make do with trying to be the super sub.

That’s because Johnson can’t stop scoring.

Almost every time he’s stepped out for the Dark Blues, he’s hit the net.

Five goals in his first seven matches has made him extremely hard to drop at the minute.

After being given a rest for the Challenge Cup against Elgin City, Johnson blasted back into the team with a smashing finish very early on against Alloa at the weekend.

And the goal spoke of the natural goalscoring instinct the Englishman possesses, being in the right place at the right time and finding the right finish.

It was a big goal after a couple of tough weeks for the team.

Manager James has joked about throwing all three together on the pitch and just letting them get on with it.

As much as he might be tempted to do that – there’s no denying Danny Johnson is doing the business in dark blue right now.

Danny Johnson has fired in five goals in seven appearances for Dundee.