Stunning signing and incredible professional

Iwas away w i th Scotland when Claudio Caniggia arrived in Dundee and h is signing really captured the imagination.

We played one game together – his debut and my farewell – against Aberdeen at Pittodrie and he came off the bench to score.

A week later I was gone, leaving for Celtic. I think I was sold to pay for him – that’s life!

Seriously though, the Caniggia deal was brilliant for the fans and great for the city as well. Social media wasn’t around back then but can you imagine how Twitter would react if a bona fide football superstar touched down in Scotland today to continue their career?

A lot has been said about the man himself over the years, from his ability to his friendship with Diego Maradona.

The key bit for me is that when he came to Dundee, he wasn’t there just to make up the numbers.

My impression of him, from a short time playing with him and then playing against him, was that he was an unbelievable professional.

He was super-fit, he had talent and he had incredible pace. His application was phenomenal. And you’re not past it if you get a move to Rangers at his age.

I ’m really looking forward to watching The Courier ’s doc umentar y about his spell at Dundee.

It’s been a strange week for my old club who were supposed to be in action last night against Forfar before the Betfred Cup game was called off.

It was sad to see the match cancelled because of a positive Covid-19 test returned by a Forfar player but I think this will happen regularly now.

Is it fair? Probably not. But it could’ve been spread among the two squads had the game gone ahead.

There’s also been a lot of talk this week about why fans aren’t allowed back in stadiums yet.

In the lower leagues, social distancing won’t be a problem and the stadiums are b ig enough to accommodate the crowds.

The top end of the SPFL is where the difficulty is.

The main thing is that clubs across the country survive because I think a lot will be in trouble.

We’re fortunate just now at Arbroath that we have a feelgood factor after a couple of good campaigns.

But our club, and so many others, are vital to their communities – we

need to keep them alive.

Meanwhile, Osman Sow is an interesting signing for Dundee.

He got a bad injur y against us when he was with Dundee United, he did his Achilles. If he’s fit, he’ll make an impact at Dens.

BRIGHT LICHTIES

It was great to be back with an away win against Stirling Albion in the Betfred Cup on Tuesday night.

Getting changed under stands was very strange but that’s the procedures. It was a bright start to the season for us.

POSITIVITY NEEDED

It’s been a long time since Scotland have been in a position like this but

there’s still work to do.

We need to be positive. Lyndon Dykes really looked the part in the last couple of games and he’s the one player in the squad who can get the team up the park.

My old team-mate Leigh Griffiths isn’t part of the set-up this time around but it was great to see him return from injury with a goal for Celtic against St Johnstone at the weekend.

Leigh is an impact player. He can ge t in behind defences and for a smaller guy he’s great in the air.

For Steve Clarke, it’s a difficult situation. If he was to suddenly put him in, he’d get slaughtered for it but if things don’t go our way you’ll probably have

a

lot

of

hard people saying we should have at least had Leigh on the bench, even just to have the option to bring him on if we’re struggling.

It’s a no-win situation be honest.

Leigh’s had his issues but he looks to be on track now.

LESSON FOR REDS

to

My Eng l ish team Liverpool got a lesson at the weekend against Aston Villa and the result proved that even the champions can come unstuck.

Adrian came in for Alisson who was injured and it’s fair to say he isn’t as comfortable with the ball at his feet as the Brazilian.

He was caught out a couple of times and that set the tone for the game.

Claudio Caniggia takes on a certain Celtic goalkeeper during his spell with the Dark Blues.