Midfielder refused to throw toys out of pram

SHAUN Byrne has been one of Dundee’s most consistent performers in a Championship campaign littered with inconsistency.

Form went up and down for the team but generally Byrne was there in the middle of the park, keeping the ball, winning tackles and shining, even on dark days.

However, in recent weeks he has found himself on the bench watching on as the Dark Blues picked up a run of results.

His start against Dunfermline on Tuesday night was his first in the league since a 2-2 draw at Greenock Morton at the end of February.

“I’m not going to lie, the last four or five weeks has been really frustrating for myself being out of the team,” he said.

“I just kept my head down, I’m not one to mump and moan.

“To be fair, the boys in the middle of the park in Gowser (Paul McGowan) and Max (Anderson) have been different class recently.

“I’m glad to be back in the team and I can hopefully pick up my form from January and have a good end to the season.”

After a first campaign at Dens Park where Byrne himself admitted he hadn’t shown all he was capable of, the former Livingston midfielder was determined to up his game second time around.

“That’s what made it more frustrating. I felt I was playing pretty well,” he said.

“But we changed the middle and obviously we got some wins so that was good.

“To be fair, the manager spoke to me every week saying I hadn’t done anything wrong but we were picking up results.

“He was happy with my attitude