George Cran

Will the real Dundee please stand up – time ticking away in season

WILL the real Dundee please stand up?

I’ve been banging on all season in this column that the Dark Blues will come good, it’ll take a bit of time to gel with a new squad, and all that.

I do still believe they will, just about.

Now we’re into February, though, that voice in the back of my head that says ‘you’re talking nonsense’ is getting louder and louder.

We’re heading into the crunch time of the season and I’m worried I’ve started to look a bit silly.

Too late, you say?

I can see why a lot of the Dundee support that went down the road to see their side at Cappielow at the weekend were unhappy with the way their team played.

It’s a culmination of poor performance after poor performance after poor result.

However, for me, there was a definite improvement in the Dark Blues display.

It was better than the Inverness, Motherwell and Dunfermline defeats all rolled into one.

That’s not the standard a club like Dundee should be judging themselves on, I know.

But there was much more about them at Morton, at both ends of the park, and, on the balance of chances, they should have come away with all three points.

That’s where I see the encouragement.

George Cran Column

Something they have consistently failed to do this season is create good opportunities to score.

They did that at Morton and were unlucky to see Declan McDaid’s effort come back off the post, Kane Hemmings’ goal-bound shot blocked and Christie Elliott’s last-gasp free-kick just clip the post on the way wide in the second half.

That gives me hope for the business end of the campaign.

That by giving themselves a bit of confidence by sticking a chance like that away they can finally get their act together and move up the Championship table.

It’s so close, that a small run of form will get them right back in the mix for second place – they only trail Inverness by six points. That’s an ICT side that have lost their two centre-backs in the transfer window and are there for the taking.

It’s up to Dundee – they have the quality in their ranks to do it, too.

They are stronger now than they were at the start of January, though they could do with some striking cover.

I can’t help but feel this Saturday’s match at home to Partick will have a big say in the way the season goes from here.

Get that elusive win and they are back in the play-offs spots – lose and they are nervously looking over their shoulder.

Dundee celebrate Kane Hemmings’ early goal at Cappielow.