Lee Wilkie

Crunch time now for Dee – consistency is essential

WE’RE getting to crunch time for Dundee’s season now.

Saturday’s 2-0 win over Arbroath was a good one and hopefully one they can kick on from.

Ayr tonight and then Alloa on Friday are matches where they can do just that.

And they’ll be pleased to have another game so quickly after a positive day on Saturday where they can build on the confidence gained.

However, we have seen Dundee in this sort of position before – form drops off, they pick up again and you expect them to kick on but form drops once more.

That’s the sort of cycle they need to get themselves out of between now and the end of the season because games are running out.

The good thing for the Dark Blues is we are starting to see just how dangerous a team they really are.

Paul McMullan has been a very good addition and they’ve got Declan McDaid on the other side as well.

I don’t know what Charlie Adam’s stats are this year for creating chances – I’d expect it’s about three or four good chances a game.

I don’t think Dundee are a million miles away from clicking.

What they’ve been lacking all season is consistency.

Saturday’s win over

Arbroath will help no end, though.

There are not many better results than that for a team.

The Red Lichties are a very tough side to beat, as you can tell by their results over the past few months.

It’s never easy to get the better of Dick Campbell’s side, no matter who you are.

The big issue for James McPake to address this season has been his defence.

They’ve conceded too many goals and it’s left them where they are in the table.

So a clean sheet is a huge bonus.

More of those and Dundee will start heading in the right direction, up the table towards second place.

There will be a worry this week, however, over fitness.

Liam Fontaine missed the game at the weekend through injury and his replacement Malachi Fagan-Walcott also picked up an injury in the game.

That might mean a chance for young Sam Fisher.

He doesn’t have much experience but it’ll be much easier for him going in this time around than the Raith match a while back.

Although that game didn’t go the way they wanted,

Fisher will have learned a huge amount on top of everything he gained on loan at Forfar.

He’s a good player, I like the way he goes about things and his attitude is spot on.

Sometimes as a young player you just need a break and maybe a couple of injuries is the opportunity for him to find his first-team feet.

Tonight could be a big game for young Sam, if the others don’t make it.

Regardless, it is a massive game – they all are at the moment – for Dundee.

If they can finally find that consistency with six points over the next few days, they’ll be in second after Friday night.

They don’t need any more motivation than that.

Max Anderson scores Dundee’s second goal against Arbroath on Saturday.