Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
McPake reveals Adam’s positive
MANAGER James McPake has revealed the Covid chaos that hit his Dundee side 24 hours ahead of their 2-2 draw at Greenock Morton.
The Dark Blues twice came from behind at Cappielow with goals from Jason Cummings and Danny Mullen to end a run of two straight defeats, although they remain without a win in four.
And they were without talisman Charlie Adam after he tested positive for coronavirus in the build-up to the contest.
On top of that, there was confusion over the availability of centre-back Liam Fontaine after he was initially told to self-isolate along with physio Gerry Docherty, while training on Friday was cancelled.
McPake said it was a challenging time for everyone at the club.
“It was a tough 24 hours for us,” said the Dens boss.
“On Friday, Liam Fontaine didn’t think he was playing. We lost one of our most influential players (Adam) through Covid and we have no physio so it’s been tough.
“On top of that we were told we couldn’t train on Friday.
“I’m not using that as an excuse for our performance because the three games we’ve gone to Cappielow, that’s probably the best we’ve handled them.
“Who knows if the preparation on Friday would have helped? What didn’t help was not knowing.
“I think it was 11am we got the OK that Fontaine could play and wasn’t a close contact.
“It was a challenging 24-and-a-bit hours.
“As a manager, I’ve had defeats, heavy defeats, and there have been times going home and wondering if this is really for me.
“You watch the game four or five times to find the answer.
“The 28 hours or so before Saturday’s game was completely new to me. At 10.50pm on Friday I still didn’t know my team. It’s certainly not been an easy time.
“We have to thank Morton for helping us because their physio covered us as well during the game.
“We also had a worry over Lee Ashcroft and it felt like Raith Rovers all over again.”
With fixtures piled up over the next few weeks thanks to a host of recent call-offs, Dundee will be without Adam for some key games.
While he admits it was a blow to lose his captain, McPake is confident he has the squad to cope with the absence of the former Scotland midfielder.
“The club has done everything right with the protections and we