The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Underdogs role will suit Dee in derby – Hemmings
Kane Hemmings insists the Dundee players will revel in the role of underdogs when they make the short walk down the road on Friday night to face table-topping United at Tannadice.
The Dark Blues dropped two points against Inverness on Saturday in what was a frustrating afternoon at Dens with the game ending in a goal-less stalemate.
At the same time, the Tangerines were maintaining their 100% start to the season in the Championship, beating Dunfermline 2-0 at East End Park.
The bookies will undoubtedly make United favourites to continue that run at home against Dundee but Hemmings believes being underdogs can work in his team’s favour.
He said: “Yes, it can do. They are in red-hot form.
“They have won their first three games and they will probably go into the derby expecting to put us to bed.
“But we are not bothered about that. We just have to take care of ourselves and we will go down there with a game plan that we know can win us the match.”
Hemmings continued: “We will be confident that we can do so.
“I played in a lot of derbies over the years and it is a very good one to play in.
“It is also a good one to come out on top in so we will look forward to the game.”
Dundee boss James McPake admitted the lacklustre performance on Saturday was a far cry from the sparkling display his players posted against Premiership Aberdeen in the Betfred Cup last Sunday.
The manager is still looking for his team to show greater consistency but he shouldered some of the blame for the absence of that quality against Caley.
He was certain, though, that everyone would be back at their best for the derby.
McPake said: “There was miles of difference from last week in terms of quality but we are inconsistent at the minute.
“We are getting periods of games where we look really good and periods where we don’t look convinced at what we are doing.
“A lot of that lies with me as well. I am changing it, putting people on and changing shape, so I will go away and as a staff we will look at that and see if we can pinpoint where we are going wrong.
“As a group we will keep working away and we will get there.
“It will take nothing at all to lift the boys for the derby.
“The buzz for that starts now. It’s not an excuse but everything was focused on Inverness.
“Once we get this disappointment out of our system, we’ll start looking towards the derby.
Jamie Ness missed the Inverness game with a sickness bug while fellow midfielder Finlay Robertson, 16, had to come off with cramp but both players are expected to be fit for Friday.
Caley Thistle finished strongly against the Dark Blues but were unable to capitalise on a number of late opportunities – however striker James Keatings was not disheartened by the result.
The 27-year-old former Dundee United player added: “We will take the point.
“It was one of those games where it was a battle from start to finish and there wasn’t a lot of good football played.
“It is a good point because we were away from home and we came here earlier in the season and we got beat, but this time we could have won it because we had a few headers and set-pieces at the end.
“We take the point.” Keatings is confident the best has yet to come from the new-look Caley Jags side. “At the start of the season, we had a few new boys coming in and there were a few new boys, including myself, coming in,” he said.
“It took the team a bit of adjusting and getting used to the boys and the team.
“We will get better as the games come along.”