Hemmings is equivalent of Nisbet, insists boss Mcpake

Seven goals in three games have made Dunfermline’s Kevin Nisbet the form striker in the Championship.

But Dundee manager James Mcpake has backed his own number-nine Kane Hemmings to be just as prolific given the right service.

The Pars and the Dark Blues clash at Dens Park on Saturday and Mcpake wants to see his team play to the strengths of Hemmings, just as the Fife men do with 19-goal Nisbet.

“He’s a player I like,” said the Dundee boss of the former Raith Rovers man.

“He was a threat in the first game of the season when we played them and we’ve obviously seen what he can do since then.”

Mcpake added: “They get the ball into the box for him.

“The big thing is they’re creating the chances for him and he’s putting them away.

“I believe that we’ve got strikers who are every bit as good as anybody in the league and will score plenty of goals with the right service.

“With the strikers we’ve got, we have to play to their strengths.

“Kano’s goal on Saturday is an example. It was a great striker’s goal. He likes getting on the end of crosses.

“I genuinely do feel he’s been doing OK.

“His link-up play has been excellent. He gets you up the pitch. But Saturday showed again that if you give him chances he will score.

“It’s a great ball from Cammy (Kerr) for his goal and we need more of that.”

Dundee and Dunfermline have played Championship trading places in the last few weeks, with Stevie Crawford’s team winning four in a row to move away from the bottom of the table into the play-off spots and Mcpake’s men falling from six points off the top to mid-table without a win in the same period.

“It shows you what can happen,” he said.

“We’ve kind of switched. Dunfermline have started winning games and we’ve started losing them.

“I met Stevie at a reserve game and we were talking about how quickly things can turn.

“It shows you that if you put a couple of results together you’re right back up there. They’re in the play-off places where we want to get back to.”

Mcpake is optimistic that Andrew Nelson, Jordan Marshall and Josh Meekings will all be available on Saturday.

“Nelson did a really tough session yesterday,” he reported. “It’s the same with Marshall. They’ll come back into the group tomorrow.

“Hopefully we’ll have Meekings back with us as well. We felt last Saturday was too big a risk.

“Ness’s injury is settling. We don’t know yet if it is linked to the Cove one. We’ll look to move him on this week but there is no chance for Saturday.”