Dundee

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

While he would like to continue his incredible scoring form this season, captain Simon Murray says he will settle for fewer goals as long as Dundee win more games.

The 33-year-old striker was able to score 21 times last term in a struggling side, who finished 10th in Scottish Premiership.

In the two campaigns prior to that, while at Ross County and Queen's Park, he amassed an impressive 44 goals.

Speaking ahead of Dundee's season opener against Airdrieonians in the League Cup, Murray said: "I would like to keep up the form I have been in for the past couple of years, so if I could get to the same level and try to go one more it would be great.

"But there is a bigger responsibility for me, I need to make sure I am doing the best work for the team like I always do, and if it means scoring less but winning more games then that is more important."

He will have a key role to play in a new-look side under head coach Steven Pressley, who handed Murray the captaincy soon after his appointment.

"New faces bring freshness," Murray added. "Obviously we lost some key players last season, but that is football. We all know what it is like and you need to adapt.

"You have got players now who are coming in and want to be here and give their all for the team, that is just as important.

"Then also the new ideas the manager wants to implement this season and how he wants us to play, so it has been quite a full on couple of weeks, but the boys are buzzing and really taking on board what he has been saying and it is exciting."

Manager Steven Presley wants Dundee to ease the burden on forward and captain Simon Murray, 33. (Courier - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Dundee head coach Steven Pressley has been speaking to the media ahead of his side's League Cup group opener at home to Airdrieonians on Saturday.

Here are the key lines:

• Pressley's appointment last month divided opinion among the supporters. Five weeks on, he says: "I am not sitting here feeling I need to prove anything to anybody".

• When asked if that makes it even more important to get the new season off to a winning start, he said all managers are under pressure to win games.

• "All I can do is continue to work hard with my staff, with our players and hopefully in time begin to convince people we can do something that is right here," he added.

• Ahead of the start of their group campaign, he said: "It is the balance for us, we know the importance of winning the game but equally we know the importance of getting all our players up to speed for the start of the new league campaign."

• After bringing in six players so far, he says they probably need "another five or six" but adds there is nothing imminent on that front.

• He points out that while they have "good cover" in defence, the are "very thin on the ground" in midfield and wide areas.

• He was full of his praise for Airdrieonians manager Rhys McCabe, adding: "We are going to give them the utmost respect."

• Team news: Charlie Reilly is out with a shoulder injury.

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Dundee say Barry Nicholson and Glen Johnson will "bring a wealth of experience and knowledge" to the club as the pair join Steven Pressley's coaching staff.

Former Scotland midfielder Nicholson has been appointed assistant coach, while ex-Carlisle and Queen's Park coach Johnson joins as head of goalkeeping.

Nicholson, who played for Rangers, Dunfermline and Aberdeen, previously worked with Pressley at Fleetwood before spending time at Nottingham Forest.

Like Johnson, who has had time working in America and India, Nicholson also coached at Queen's Park before leaving in March.

Image source, Getty Images

New Dundee forward Ashley Hay "couldn't wait" to sign for the club and link-up with Steven Pressley again after joining from Brentford.

Hay, 21, spent two years with the Bees and captained their 'B' side as well as being top-scorer, while working closely with Pressley in his role as head of individual player development.

"I am excited to be here and can't wait to meet all the boys," Hay told club media.

"I was with Steven at Brentford. He came to me and my agent, and proposed for me to come here. I heard about the project and couldn't wait to get down.

"We had a good chat, he explained what he wants from me, what he sees in me. I trust in him fully and can't wait to get started."

Image source, Getty Images

Dundee head coach Steven Pressley has returned to former club Brentford to sign 19-year-old left winger Tony Yogane on a season-long loan.

Pressley was the Premier League club's head of individual player development before moving to Dens Park this summer.

And he oversaw Yogane's development through the club's youth system, his debut and, so far, only first-team appearance last year in a Carabao Cup win over Leyton Orient, then a loan spell with Exeter City.

The Croydon-born teenager told Dundee's website: "Steven worked with me closely and looked after me, so I couldn't say no when the opportunity came."

Yogane began his career in Sheffield Wednesday's youth system before moving to Brentford as a 16-year-old.

He ended last season having made 19 appearances, five of them starts, as Exeter finished the League One campaign in 16th place.

"It was good - the league was obviously tougher, a different experience, but a good experience to play that amount of games," Yogane said of the jump from under-21 games with Brentford.

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BBC Sport has taken a look at which players will be free agents on 1 July.

The majority of major football leagues run from late summer to late spring, with pre-season in June and July. Therefore, contracts across most divisions typically expire at 23:59 on 30 June each year.

Those whose contracts are expiring but have already agreed transfers to new clubs are not included, as they will not become free agents.

Some Scottish Premiership contracts expire on 31 May rather than 30 June - the below players either already are or will become free agents.

Aberdeen: Tom Ritchie

Celtic: Greg Taylor

Dundee: Scott Fraser, Antonio Portales, Joe Shaughnessy

Dundee United: David Babunksi, Allan Campbell, Lewis Moult, Bryan Mwangi

Falkirk: N/A

Hearts: Jorge Grant, Barrie McKay, Lawrence Shankland

Hibernian: Maksymilian Boruc, Junior Hoilett

Kilmarnock: Kyle Magennis, Kieran O'Hara, Kyle Vassell

Livingston: N/A

Motherwell: Moses Ebiye, Harry Paton, Dominic Thompson, Davor Zdravkovski

Rangers: Adam Devine, Tom Lawrence, Ianis Hagi

St. Mirren: Dennis Adeniran, Elvis Bwomono

Dundee boss Steven Pressley is set to make full use his Brentford links to sign 19-year-old winger Tony Yogane on loan. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

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Dundee's pre-season hit-out over Arbroath was over-shadowed by a nasty-looking shoulder injury to Charlie Reilly.

The 23-year-old forward has suffered with persistent knocks and niggles in his time at Dens Park since joining from Albion Rovers in 2023.

Reilly was fouled in the box early in the first-half, before new captain Simon Murray missed the penalty.

Drey Wright scored direct from a corner moments after the second half began, with a trialist adding the second.

Dundee (First-half): McCracken, Ingram, Astley, Koumetio, Digby, Garza, Murray, Hunter, Reilly, F Robertson, Graham.

Dundee (Second-half): Carson, Donnelly, Wright, Acquah, Trialist, Samuels, Scott, Hunter, Davies-Browne, Crombie, Lopez.

Substitutes: Sharp, Leiper, Baird, Bland.

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New boss Steven Pressley is aiming to shake up Dundee's previous transfer strategy as he plans to implement a new, long-term, recruitment strategy.

The Dens Park club signed 16 players last season, and 22 the season before that. So far this summer, Pressley has added just four.

"I'm aware that it's going to take time to get the players in," the new head coach said. "It's really challenging, but I came here with that understanding.

"There's no doubt we could get players in now but are they the right ones for Dundee? That's the most important factor."

"Every year there seems to be a real transition of players and we have to get away from that at our club.

"It has to be when we come to the end of a season, we're only looking to recruit two or three and build on the season before."

"In order to do that it's very important that we get the recruitment right now. We're working tirelessly hard, really doing a lot of due diligence around that. Everybody's really committed to try and getting players in, but we just want to get the right players in."

Pressley has the added difficulty of replacing two key players, academy graduates Lyall Cameron and Josh Mulligan, who have departed for Rangers and Hibernian respectively.

"We've made a couple of really good acquisitions to the squad in [Paul] Digby, who's settled in extremely well, Drey Wright, who has had a a couple of excellent seasons at St Johnstone, and of course Emile [Acquah] from AFC Barrow, a big striker that has very much impressed me in my travels in England.

"He also impressed our recruitment team - the reports, the due diligence on him was very good and we all collaborated. We think he is a really interesting signing."

The head coach also touched on the partnership Acquah can strike with new club captain Simon Murray, who was appointed earlier in the week - a decision Pressley called "very easy".

"It was the natural choice. When you look at Simon, first and foremost, he's a terrific person but he's also a player with a great attitude.

"He leads by example to our younger players, he's a really good player and I love his journey. He's had to work exceptionally hard for what he's got, he's had some serious setbacks in his career, some difficult periods, but he just keeps going.

"He's shown amazing resilience and we're really seeing the fruits of that now. He's never been better than he is now, never been fitter than he is now, so it was a very easy decision. He's a Dundee supporter at heart, which which also is a a really important factor."

Dundee are still in the dark as to the compensation they will receive for Lyall Cameron, who has joined Rangers, and fellow midfielder Josh Mulligan, who has signed for Hibernian. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip.

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Bulgaria international Plamen Galabov "quickly" signed a two-year deal with Dundee as he wants to get out his "comfort zone" and "challenge" himself.

The defender joins Steven Pressley's side upon the expiry of his contract with Israeli side Maccabi Petah Tiva, where he made 37 appearances last season.

Galabov, 29, started his career in his native Bulgaria with FC Lovech, before moving to CSKA Sofia. His last three clubs have been in Israel, where he said he grew comfortable.

"After four years in Israel, I had found my comfort zone and when I found out about the interest from Dundee I wanted to come to Scotland," he told Dundee's website.

"I want to challenge myself and see how far I can go."

Galabov has five international appearances to his name since his debut in September 2020 against the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League.

"From my first impressions here it seems like everyone is like a family and it made me feel very warm," he added.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. Everything happened very fast, a week ago my agent told me of the interest from the club, I started to read more about the country and then I accepted very quickly this opportunity.

"I always try to be a team player, for me it's very important to try and help my teammates around me.

"As a defender, it is important to communicate a lot and to be calm as that helps the players around you."

Hibernian have agreed to sign free agent Josh Mulligan, the 22-year-old midfielder most recently at Dundee, with a medical imminent. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Dundee have missed out on Matthew Pennington, with the defender having joined Bradford City from Blackpool. (Courier - subscription required), external

Livingston are keen on a return for Hearts midfielder Macaulay Tait, 19, following his successful loan last season, but there is also interest from Dundee, Falkirk and St Johnstone. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Simon Murray says it was "an easy decision" to accept and "a massive honour" to be announced as captain of Dundee.

The striker, who rejoined his boyhood club last season after a short loan in 2018, scored 22 goals in 48 games in the campaign gone by.

He had the captain's armband around his bicep throughout the season after injury interrupted previous Joe Shaughnessy's campaign and Trevor Carson was in and out of the team.

Murray admitted he will "give his all" to the role assured he is "not going to change" despite the new responsibility.

"It is a massive honour," he told club media.

"Being from here, growing up as a Dundee fan and now getting that responsibility from the new gaffer is great and something that I am really proud of.

"We've had a few days in training and I had a good chat with the gaffer, he pulled me in and we had a really good chat and he said that he wanted me to be the captain.

"It was an easy decision for me to accept. I'm going to give it my all and I look forward to the challenge.

"I'm not going to change. The gaffer was pretty clear that he wants me just to be me.

"Just to bring what I bring, enthusiasm, hard work, and leadership skills and for me just be my own person and just keep doing what I'm doing. He said that was the reason that he chose me to be captain."

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Midfielder Mo Sylla has joined Livingston following his exit from fellow Scottish Premiership side Dundee on a three-year deal.

The French 31-year-old spent two seasons at the Dens Park club, making 67 appearances, after joining from English League Two side Hartlepool United.

Sylla becomes David Martindale's seventh signing as the Lions prepare for life in the top flight again.

Image source, BBC Sport

Dundee will pay £33,000 up front, possibly rising to £100,000 if add-ons are met, to Barrow for Emile Acquah after the 24-year-old striker signed a three-year deal at Dens Park. (Courier), external

Dundee are interested in 30-year-old Blackpool centre-back Matthew Pennington. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.