The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Jakubiak’ s fit at last and keen to end goal famine
Alex Jakubiak says he’s finally ready to show Dundee fans what he can bring to the Dark Blues. The 25-year-old signed up at Dens Park last summer but endured a miserable injury-hit debut season, playing just five times due to ankle and thigh injuries.
This season started in positive fashion with a first goal for the club before yet another injury struck.
The frontman returned in the League Cup against Motherwell and was pushing for a starting spot against Hibs last month.
However, fortune has not been on Jakubiak’s side since leaving Watford for Dundee.
He tested positive for Covid-19 before the home clash with Hibs and admits the illness was one of the worst experiences of his life.
“When I saw the test it just summed up the luck I’ve had over the last year or so,” Jakubiak said.
“I was finally feeling fit and ready to play, I felt good and came on against
Motherwell. Things were feeling positive and to get hit with that…I wasn’t even annoyed, I was kind of just like here we go, another obstacle.”
He added: “I had a terrible few days, the worst I’ve ever felt with anything. I was bed-bound for two or three days.
“I can’t explain how bad I felt, I was just weak and had no energy.
“It was a struggle just to get up to go to the toilet.
“I feel a lot better now but I did have a few days where I was really struggling.”
Although he’s had a disrupted start to the season once more, the former Scotland U19 has already matched last term’s appearance tally.
He is keen to get beyond his injuries to start showing the Dark Blues what he can bring to the team.
“It’s maybe the fourth or fifth time I’ve come back – hopefully it’s the last time I have to do it,” he said.
“I’m hoping this is it. I feel a lot stronger now than I have coming back from past injuries.
“I’m doing a lot more offpitch stuff at home to make sure I am in the best possible shape.”
With goals a real problem for the Dark Blues at the moment, having another attacker fit and available can only be a positive.
And as champions Rangers visit today, bringing an end to their four-match goal drought couldn’t come at a better time.
“We’ve been getting in decent areas but it’s just been the final pass or decision in the final third that hasn’t been falling,” he added.
“It’s about starting to hit the back of the net because the longer it goes on, it will start weighing on us.
“As much as you try not to think about it, it does weigh on your mind.”
● Dundee youngster Finlay Robertson has joined ambitious League One outfit Cove Rangers on loan.
Robertson, 18, missed the tail-end of last season due to an ankle injury and has been restricted to five appearances for the Dark
Blues this term. Dens Park boss James McPake has made the decision to send the playmaker to the Balmoral Stadium in search of valuable first-team minutes.
Robertson, who made his Dundee debut at the age of 16 in May 2019, will go straight into the Cove squad to face Airdrie on Saturday.
Cove boss and former Dundee gaffer Paul Hartley said: “I would like to thank Dundee and manager James McPake for allowing us to work with Finlay.
“He was already in the academy when I was the manager at Dens Park and is a player I have always kept an eye on.
“Finlay has excellent experience of playing at Championship and Premiership level for a player of such a young age.
“He is a versatile midfielder, capable of performing in a variety of roles.
“He will increase the competition for starting places, which is something every manager wants.”