Grateful Lee relishingrole in sold-out showdown

LEE ASHCROFT admits he does not know what he would be doing with his life now if he had not answered a fateful phone call from Kilmarnock.

At the time, he was a teenager who had left school to go to college and was happy playing football with his pals at Hillwood Boys Club.

Ashcroft was just getting over the disappointment of losing a cup final against Edinburgh City when he was shocked to be asked to come in for pre-season at Rugby Park by Killie youth coach Alan Robertson.

That led to the offer of a contract, with Ashcroft (below) ultimately spending five years with the Ayrshire club before making a move to Dunfermline.

After leaving the Pars, the big central defender was snapped up by Dundee boss James McPake last summer. Now, he is looking forward to his first taste of the Dundee derby this lunchtime in front of a capacity crowd at Tannadice.

However, the 28-year-old admits his life could have been totally different had he not received that phone call out of the blue from Killie.

‘I played with Hillwood Boys Club in Pollok in Glasgow until I was 16,’ said Ashcroft. ‘I’d played in the Youth Cup final and we lost 5-3, I think. It was some game but I must have done something right!

‘I got a call from Kilmarnock after that game asking me to come in for pre-season. I had a two-week trial and then signed full-time straight from there.

‘I hadn’t long left school and was at college in Ayr. It was a sports course and, to be honest, I don’t know what I’d be doing right now if I wasn’t in football.

‘The call came at the right time for me. I’ve had a bit of luck but I definitely wouldn’t change it.’

Ashcroft is now one of the first names on the Dundee team-sheet and was a key player as the Dark Blues secured promotion through the play-offs last season.

McPake’s men have made a decent start to life back in the Premiership but are still searching for their first win after five games.

Ashcroft admits the derby would be the perfect time to right that wrong. ‘It could be massive,’ he said. ‘In football, when you play against a certain team, especially your local rivals, if you can get an early victory it can give you all the confidence in the world. I hope we can do that. That will give us something to build on.

‘United have had a great start. Obviously, beating Rangers was a huge result for them. Going to Tannadice is never easy, so we will have to be at it if we are to get anything from the game.’