Relief as Dee survive... now for three in a row

You won’t be surprised to learn I am mightily relieved Dundee have secured their status in the Premiership. To be fair to Neil McCann and his players, they appear to be finishing the season in style, with back-to-back wins against Hamilton Accies and Ross County.

Hopefully they will make it three in a row on Saturday against Partick Thistle on the final day at Dens.

It has been a while since they achieved that so let’s hope it comes off.

Those victories against Accies and County were achieved under a fair bit of pressure and against opponents desperate to get something out of it, especially so in Dingwall on Tuesday.

Now it is all about making progress next season.

I think this campaign will have been a bit of a learning curve for Neil and it would have been nice to have made it into the top six.

They now have to set their sights higher than their ninth-place and I think it is reasonable to set a finish in the top half of the table as a target.

There have been quite a few positives to come out of the season that is about to end and that should not be forgotten.

Neil has given youth its chance and also unearthed some excellent players, with Glen Kamara probably the outstanding example.

So if he can add one or two more decent players over the summer then the fans can really look forward to next season. A serious talent I note that my old pal Gary Harkins didn’t have long to wait to get another club after announcing he was leaving Morton.

He is off to Queen of the South and that is a fine move for both him and the club.

He is a serious talent – even Brendan Rodgers mentioned him after Celtic played them – and it is nice to know his ability will still be put to good use in the Championship. Journalism great I was sorry to hear of the passing of renowned football journalist Ron Scott.

Ron was an absolute gentleman and our paths crossed a fair bit over the years, whether that be at Dundee, on European trips with Celtic or at Scotland games.

While there are some people of whom you are wary until you get to know them, Ron had a manner and personality that made you warm to him right away and he will be sorely missed.

They now have to set their sights higher than ninth and I think it is reasonable to set a finish in the top half of the table as a target

Finger on the pulse – but this season has been a learning curve for Dundee boss Neil McCann.