The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
The rise and rise of Dundee
The stunning transformation of the free-scoring Dark Blues is put under the spotlight by sports writers Neil Robertson, Ian Roache and Eric Nicolson, as is St Johnstone’s continuing problem with beating bottom six sides at McDiarmid Park
Q We’ve got to start with Dundee. It’s been quite a transformation over the last couple of weeks. What has happened to the team that were beaten by St Mirren?
NR: Dundee boss Paul Hartley has tinkered with his formation and personnel in what has been a rollercoaster season but he finally seems to have hit on a formula for success. The big challenge now is for the manager and players to show this is a sustained revival of fortunes, starting tonight against Partick Thistle at Dens.
IR: What Hartley did was get the approach to the Rangers game absolutely spot on, both tactically and psychologically. His men then played out the gameplan to perfection. It all started to go right during the manager’s canny build-up to that match. While it would be fake news to say I thought they would hit five by half-time I nevertheless did expect them to take the momentum from the Rangers victory to Motherwell and win the game.
EN: Saturday’s was as free-flowing and clinical a Dundee side as I’ve seen since I covered their win in the snow at Firhill a year ago. Whisper it, but I actually think the forward link-up play was more impressive than the Stewart, Harkins, Hemmings triumvirate. Confidence is the biggest factor. The shackles have been cast off.
Q Hartley has name-checked Henrik Ojamaa for his impact. Has he been the most significant player over the last couple of weeks in your opinion? NR: The manager himself admits he had been struggling to find a partner for
main striker Marcus Haber before Ojamaa’s arrival. The Estonian seems to be the ideal foil for the big Canadian and he will only get better with more games under his belt.
IR: He has made such an impact at the BBC that they were calling him Obama on Saturday! The former US president, while nifty on the basketball court and golf course, wouldn’t have made the kind of impact on the football pitch alongside Haber that his ‘namesake’ has done.
EN: I can see Hartley’s point. Ojamaa hasn’t scored but he’s bringing the best out of others. James Vincent has been an unsung hero as well. I would say that Haber and O’Hara were the star turns at Fir Park, though.
Q Can we now stop talking about Dundee as a potential relegation playoff side?
NR: With the gap now eight points between the Dark Blues and secondbottom Inverness, you would have to say yes, but I am sure Hartley and his players will want to ensure they are mathematically safe sooner rather than later.
IR: I think they will be OK because of the quality of player they have – Kerr, O’Dea, O’Hara, Ojamaa, Haber etc – but I do know plenty of Dundee fans who are still worried about getting dragged down again. I guess we’ll know more after the visit of Thistle.
EN: I’ve seen enough now to say that Dundee won’t be in the bottom two places. Q Partick Thistle are a team on the up as well. How will tonight’s match pan out?
NR: Dundee will be under no illusions about how difficult this game will be with the Jags having won their last three matches. Alan Archibald’s side have also beaten the Dark Blues twice already this season so Hartley’s men will need to be at their best if their own good run is to continue.
IR: Neil says it all, really. I have been impressed by the Jags every time I have seen them this season, bar the defeat to United at Tannadice in the Betfred Cup early in the season.
EN: There’s every chance that Dundee will field the same starting line-up three games in a row. Thistle will be much more solid at the back than either Rangers or Motherwell but I think the Dark Blues will have too much firepower for them. A 2-1 home win for me.
Q St Johnstone boss Tommy Wright didn’t hold back after the Kilmarnock defeat. Is this latest failure at home to a so-called smaller team a mental problem as much as anything?
NR: Having their Sunday day off cancelled should focus the minds of the St Johnstone players and I would be amazed if Wright does not receive the right response when the next home match against a team they are expected to beat comes around.
IR: The annoying thing for Saints must be that they blew a golden chance to be going to Ibrox just one win away from catching Rangers. They do seem to have the odd daft result in them but it’s when there is a run of them that it becomes a serious problem.
EN: It’s a while since Danny Swanson has been at his best. Getting him back in the side and picking holes in opposition defences is vital against the bottom six
sides at home. Murray Davidson’s absence is also significant.
Q Would it be typical Saints to now win at Ibrox?
NR: It will have to be some turnaround to beat Rangers in Govan as the Perth men were woeful on Saturday. However, if there is one side in Scotland that you would put your money on to come storming back with a top-drawer display it would have to be St Johnstone.
IR: Yes, it would and the pressure is right on Rangers and their unfortunate caretaker coach Graeme Murty.
EN: Saints have got a great record against Rangers in recent times. I think it will continue with a draw at least.
Q What do you make of the time that Rangers are taking to appoint a new manager?
NR: If Saints do secure a result at Ibrox, the demand from the Rangers fans for their board to appoint a new manager will become deafening. The whole process already seems to have dragged on far longer than it should have.
IR: It is a dereliction of duty by the board. They should have had both a director of football and team boss in by now. Maybe we make the mistake of thinking that people who run clubs know what they are doing.
EN: The time doesn’t necessarily alarm me. Better to make sure you get the right man. It’s just that I’m not convinced there is a proper long-term plan. I feel for Graeme Murty, though. His discomfort in the caretaker manager role is obvious for all to see.
Q Dundee United kept their unbeaten home record going against Morton. What did the game tell us?
NR: That the Tangerines are still not firing on all cylinders and it is a problem manager Ray McKinnon is struggling to solve. At least the late equaliser meant they did not concede further ground to league leaders Hibs.
IR: I was at Tannadice on Saturday and McKinnon was definitely right to describe the first half as “horrible.” It worries me that United can look so flat and sluggish. There wasn’t much spark in their play in what was a really important match for them. They should have
capitalised on Hibs getting another draw but instead they were lucky to get a point themselves.
EN: The safety of United, Morton and Falkirk in the top four has taken a bit of an edge off things. Roll on the play-offs. Q Motherwell have sacked Mark McGhee. Fair?
NR: The Steelmen have only won once in their last eight games and have lost four in a row, conceding 17 goals in the process. These are damning stats so the decision to sack him was not a surprise.
IR: I have dealt with McGhee mainly while on Scotland duty and he can be a friendly, humorous and quotable guy. He has been beaten by results like many managers before him and you sensed it was the end after the doing they got from Dundee.
EN: I thought he would get the chance to see the season out. As awful as they were on Saturday I still think they’re better than Hamilton and Inverness. The fan-owned club thing is interesting. Motherwell might find the manager’s job becomes less appealing if the decision makers are influenced by kids congregating with a banner at the front door.