The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dundee could do with ending away hoodoo before festive schedule.
The Ladbrokes Premiership will go into hibernation in January with the league taking a winter break.
The players will definitely need the rest by then with December packed to bursting with a feast of festive fixtures.
Dundee kick off the demanding set of games tomorrow with a trip to the Highlands to face Ross County.
They entertain Aberdeen at Dens the following Friday night then, just four days later, Neil McCann’s men will travel to Edinburgh to play Hearts.
Saturday December 16 sees the Dark Blues face Partick at home – then there is a week’s break before a trip to Motherwell.
The Celtic juggernaut comes calling at Dens on Boxing Day with the year being topped off with a Tayside derby at McDiarmid Park on the 30th against St Johnstone.
That’s a gruelling seven games in just 28 days, a schedule that will stretch Dundee’s big squad to the limit.
And it is fair to say that considering some of the games that follow, Saturday’s match in Dingwall is vitally important.
Two weeks ago, Dundee steadied the ship after five defeats on the bounce with their draw against Kilmarnock and then went one better with the dramatic win over Rangers at Dens last Friday night.
McCann will no doubt be hoping that the last two games were the start of a sustained revival for his side as they look to haul themselves away from the wrong end of the table.
But can they expect to make it back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this season against Ross County, a result which would also be their maiden away victory of the campaign?
The last time the Dark Blues made the trip to Dingwall, back in April, they lost 2-1. However, there is little to be learned from the history books.
Paul Hartley was the manager that day and amazingly, only four of the XI who started that game lined up against Rangers last Friday.
Cammy Kerr, Mark O’Hara, Paul McGowan and Marcus Haber were the quartet of survivors which is an astonishing turnaround in personnel in such a short space of time.
But back to the present day... and in their last three away games, the Dark Blues have come mighty close to at least taking a point, beginning with the 1-0 defeat at Celtic Park, the 2-1 loss to Partick and then the reverse by the same scoreline at Easter Road.
Dundee had hard-luck stories in all those games courtesy of contentious decisions that went against them.
However, what is not debatable is that McCann’s men are showing definite signs of improvement on their travels, especially compared to results at the start of the campaign when they lost 3-0 at Hamilton and 4-1 at Ibrox.
If that progression can continue tomorrow then the away-day hoodoo may yet be broken, especially as the Staggies have had precious little home comfort this season at the Global Energy Stadium, losing five times in eight Premiership games.