The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Little to cheer but milestone for Kerr
The football gods are giving Dundee a bit of a kicking right now.
Four defeats from four, three of them without scoring, with injuries, suspensions and breaches of club discipline coming out their ears.
The latest loss, 1-0 to Hearts on Saturday, came amid huge pressure on the playing squad.
With barely any substitutes, the Dark Blues showed guts, fight and determination in a tight contest against the team third in the league.
Numbers are low – just five named on the bench with only three Premiership Dundee appearances between them, all for Alex Jakubiak.
And even he isn’t yet up to speed after another lengthy injury. Though, what we could see through the fog, he did look bright after coming off the bench late on.
Looking at the absentee list, it isn’t a massive number out. What they are missing are key, key players.
Skipper Charlie Adam is a huge loss, Dundee have only earned one point this season when he’s not in the team.
Then there’s Lee Ashcroft’s presence at the back and Shaun Byrne’s protection for the backline and ability to hold the ball under pressure.
Those are three players without ready-made replacements waiting to step up.
Even some of the players making it out on to the pitch aren’t fully fit. Danny Mullen had been struggling with injury in the lead-up to the game and didn’t look himself.
The same goes for Max Anderson as he continues to carry a thigh strain. Neither had great games but you wonder just how fit they actually were.
Last Monday, it emerged captain Adam had been
arrested for alleged drinkdriving. On Friday, Jason Cummings was sent home from training for breaching club discipline, “unfit to train” according to boss James Mcpake after dressing up as the Joker at Open Goal Live.
Even in the mad world of Dundee Football Club, this past week takes the biscuit.
Already struggling to get a team on the pitch and on
a bad run, those are situations the management team just don’t need to have to deal with.
And these actions don’t only affect the players involved but can have an impact throughout the entire squad. I wonder what will happen this week?
In recent weeks, and throughout much of the season, creating chances wasn’t a problem for this Dundee side.
Keeping the back door shut was the Achilles heel.
In the last two fixtures, however, the Dark Blues have created very little.
The matches against Hibs and Hearts were similar, very tight with few chances but with some bad luck costing Dundee in their own box.
At the other end, though, things aren’t working.
Play is good up till the final ball, then it’s often the case of a cross coming in and a big defender bashing the wee striker out of the way and heading clear.
Real quality is lacking right now.
Right-back Cammy Kerr has been a quietly efficient performer of late.
In his 200th appearance for the club, the 26-year-old showed his defensive ability in a straight race with Barrie Mckay, seeing off the tricky winger.
That landmark shouldn’t be downplayed, it’s a tremendous achievement and one that’s becoming more and more a rarity.