HAPPY NESS
Midfielder hopes fond memories of Old Firm experience will help him in Tayside tussle
FOR Jamie Ness, there was a certain amount of bliss to be found amid the ignorance.
Eight years on from making his full Rangers debut against Celtic at Ibrox, the now Dundee midfielder has cause to question how a night or more of knowing what lay in store might have adversely impacted upon him.
The record books show that the Ayrshire-born player’s first taste of the Glasgow derby ended in abject misery. Two goals that day from an unplayable Georgios Samaras saw to that.
What the scoreline will never illustrate was that Ness was among his side’s better performers in defeat.
Recognition of that fact came by way of Walter Smith trusting him to reprise the role in a Scottish Cup tie the following month in which the midfielder scored a howitzer at the outset of a 2-2 draw.
The wounds of that first Glasgow derby now long healed, Ness feels the experience of those formative days will serve him well as he contemplates his first taste of the Dundee version this evening.
‘I remember the goal mainly from that cup game,’ he replied when asked for his recollections. ‘I think I scored in the second or third minute.
‘We ended up drawing 2-2 in that game but could have won it. It was some experience.
‘My full debut, though, was the Old Firm game as well about six weeks before that. I literally found out two hours before the game that I was playing. Walter Smith was the manager at the time and he just put the team up on the board and that was it.
‘My name was up there and I didn’t really know how to react but then we just got on the bus.
‘My family were coming up for the game but I didn’t even tell them I was playing. They found out through the radio that I was starting. They were a lot more nervous than I was.
‘We lost the game with Georgios Samaras scoring two but I loved the whole experience.
‘I loved the game, the atmosphere, everything about it, so I really enjoy playing in these derby games.
‘The Old Firm ones were the biggest ones I played in and hopefully I will be able to take that experience into Friday.’
Back then, Ness looked capable of becoming a seasoned campaigner in Scotland’s most famous fixture. Little did anyone appreciate that his days in a light blue jersey were, in fact, rapidly drawing to a close.
Hampered by injuries the following season, he managed just five games under new boss Ally McCoist.
By the time he was ready to resume playing, the club were in financial meltdown.
Exercising his right not to have his contract transferred over to the new company, Ness signed a four-year deal with Stoke City.
A change of scenery did not bring a change of fortune, however. He failed to make a single appearance at the Potters. Loan spells at Orient and Crewe Alexandra were required to prevent him from stagnating.
He fared marginally better in his two years at Scunthorpe and in the two years at Plymouth which preceded his move to Dundee.
But, at 28, the Irvine-born player appreciates that others have gone further in the game with far less talent.
Already under James McPake, the injuries that have held him back over the past decade have reared their ugly head.
‘It has been a bit stop-start for me in the first few weeks of the season,’ he added.
‘I had the ankle injury which was really frustrating as I felt I had come in and hit the ground running.
‘To get over that and then play against Ayr and Aberdeen only to be floored for a couple of days was disappointing, so I am looking forward to being back involved.
‘The result at the weekend — drawing with Inverness — wasn’t what we wanted so we need to go and put that right with a good performance at Tannadice.
‘The lads in the changing room are also all aware of how big a game it is.
‘So it is one I am hopefully going to be a part of.’
Tonight’s trip to Tannadice may not be quite on the same scale as that Old Firm clash of 2011 but nor is there any point in underestimating what’s at stake.
With three wins from as many games, the only team in the Championship with a 100-per-cent record, Robbie Neilson’s side already look like they might take some catching.
McPake’s side are also unbeaten in the league but two draws — while hardly disastrous — already look costly.
For Ness, there is no merit in taking too much interest in how their city rivals are going about their business.
‘We don’t take any notice of that,’ he said. ‘They have spent more money than us this year and have been in the Championship a few seasons now.
‘The pressure is on them massively to get back up this year. But we put that pressure on ourselves as well. We want to win the league this year — that’s our goal.
‘It is something we are fully capable of doing. So we are not really bothered with the favourite tag — we will just go and do what we can do.’