Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Beck’s absence down to groin issue but club ‘not overly concerned’
TONY Docherty admits Dundee need to manage Owen Beck’s workload between now and the Premiership split.
The Dark Blues have four matches remaining before that happens and are in action this Sunday at home to leaders Rangers.
They go into that contest sitting in the top six following an impressive 1-0 victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday.
Beck, however, missed that victory with a groin issue. It’s not the first match he has missed this season with the injury.
Though it’s not a big concern for the Dark Blues long-term, Docherty says it’s a situation that needs to be managed.
“He’s OK. Owen has played a hell of a lot of football and he hasn’t played that amount of football at that intensity before,” the Dundee boss explained.
“He’s just got an issue with his groin, but we’re not overly concerned with it. We just need to rest him and manage him a little bit between now and the split.
“Hopefully he might be OK for Sunday. He trained on Tuesday and was feeling it so we didn’t want to take any chances. We need to manage him properly.”
Beck’s replacement, Owen Dodgson, “did well” according to his boss.
Docherty was pleased to see his squad cope without a number of key first-team players as they defeated the Dons at Dens Park to pick up a crucial Premiership win.
He said: “The pitch wasn’t great and it was difficult to control the ball, but the bravery shown by the team was fantastic.
“There is confidence playing at home and the fans play a big part in that.
“The players are comfortable playing here because they know they appreciate good play so they can try to do that. Loads of aspects pleased me, but particularly the bravery in individual play.”