Dundee

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Former Dundee right-back Cammy Kerr admits he was "shocked" at the timing of Tony Docherty's dismissal but appreciates its been a "disappointing" season for those at Dens Park.

Docherty was sacked the morning after the Dark Blues secured their Scottish Premiership status finishing tenth, having ended the season before in the top-six.

"It's definitely not the season that he would have wanted, the club would have wanted in terms of where they were last year," Kerr told BBC Scotland, "so, it's been a disappointing season".

"I know that there's been a bit of frustration from the fans and at times probably, rightly so, but they got over the line when they needed to so it'll be a massive shock to him as well.

"I was shocked in terms of the timing of which it came out. I obviously know it was the Player of the Year event last night and all the staff were at as well so in terms of the timing to come out that quickly this morning after the season's just finished, it's a shock."

Kerr hinted at the notion Docherty was perhaps a victim of his own success, raising the bar to a top-six height in his first season.

"I've been at Dundee a long time and I know what the club's all about," the Queen's Park defender added.

"I know what the fans expect and the Dundee fans can't expect too much at times. They probably won't want to admit that, but they do.

"After last season, it was always going to be a hard feat to beat that this season and I think on the back of last season you need to remember that Hibs, Aberdeen, they had really poor seasons - not taking anything away from Dundee - so to go and do that again this year was going to be incredibly tough.

"I just think in the manner in which the results have come about this season, I think a lot of the performances haven't been what the fans have really thought a Dundee team should be.

"I'd like to think that you know the football club, there's a certain expectation of what it means to play for Dundee and I think that's maybe been missing in a few performances this season."

To ensure that doesn't happen again, Kerr has tipped the next appointment to be someone "connected" with Dundee and who "knows the football club inside out".

"For me, it's got to be somebody that's connected to the football club, that knows the football club, but that'll be a decision for John Nelms and all the other people that make those decisions to make."

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New Hearts head coach Derek McInnes expressed sympathy for former colleague Tony Docherty following the latter's departure from Dundee.

Docherty has left Dens Park after two years as manager, having previously served as McInnes' assistant at St Johnstone, Bristol City, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.

"It's becoming more and more difficult as we go along," McInnes said after being formally announced as Hearts' new boss.

"I spoke with Doc at length this morning. It is sad, particularly when it's people you know and have worked closely with.

"Tony, for his first job, did a good job there. Sometimes it doesn't work out. You don't know all the ins and outs of why.

"He's shown in his time at Dundee over the last couple of years, and certainly his time as my assistant and as a colleague, he's got a real capability and I'm sure he'll go on to work for somebody else and do a good job elsewhere."

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Tony Docherty is no stranger to Scottish football and the brutalities of it.

But, as the curtain is brought down on what was just his second season as a manager, he now he has his own first-hand experience of how savage the industry can be.

The now former Dundee manager has perhaps been a victim of his own success.

After arriving from his position as assistant manager at Kilmarnock, he enjoyed a standout debut campaign at Dens Park last term.

He took on a club that had just been promoted from the Scottish Championship, built up a threadbare squad from scratch and went on to finish sixth in the top flight.

Such was the upward trajectory, Docherty was rewarded with a new deal at the end of that season.

But memories are short in football.

That success perhaps raised expectations about what was achievable this term.

Results were inconsistent. Injuries were a constant problem. Yes, his team were scoring goals aplenty, but they were also conceding them at an alarming rate.

Those of a Dark Blue persuasion would say, too, their team were not getting the rub of the green when it came to some officiating over the course of the past few months.

That all led to the club becoming embroiled in a battle at the wrong end of the table, but their fears of being involved in a nerve-shredding relegation play-off were allayed by Sunday's 2-0 win at St Johnstone.

I was working at that game and after it, Docherty spoke of the chemistry between the team and its fans. He certainly didn't sound like a man who knew his time was up.

But football is a ruthless business.

Is it a surprise? I will let others be the judge of that, but you can understand the view that the decision is harsh.

Is it the right call? Only time will tell.

Watch highlights of Tony Docherty's final game in charge of Dundee as Lyall Cameron's double downs St Johnstone and secures the Dens Park side's safety.

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Bombshell news from Dens Park as manager Tony Docherty has been sacked on the morning after securing Dundee's Scottish Premiership status.

Coaches Stuart Taylor, Alan Combe and Graeme Henderson will also be leaving with immediate effect.

Sunday's win at St Johnstone confirmed Dundee's place in the top flight for next season, but in a statement the club say results and the 10th-placed finish "have not met the standards expected" this term.

"The club intends at this juncture to restructure the football department and the process to appoint a new management team begins immediately," they add.

Dee fans, what are your thoughts on the shock news? Have your say.

Did you take in Dundee's win over St Johnstone or were you following from home?

Have your say on the match

Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "We were never losing that game. We needed to get that result. Enormous pride in the players but also I think we showed our strengths as a football club.

"You saw a real strength, a real mentality, a real resilience about the squad. Wee Lyall Cameron to score the two goals, it's very fitting for Lyall. No surprise, but delighted for him. Our last three games, Lyall's scored four goals. Lyall's character's never been in question. His quality is outstanding. Lyall's going to have a fantastic career. Him amongst others really answered up.

"I don't want to be a manager of a team that's sitting in the bottom six. When the time's right, we'll reflect fully on it. There has been inconsistency there. We need to recruit well but the players that have been in there and will be moving on, I need to thank them for what they've done for the football club. The ones that are here, we need to kick on for next year's campaign."

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With survival secure, the inquest into how Dundee got themselves embroiled into such a battle can begin.

Having been promoted from the second tier, they really impressed in the Premiership last term, finishing sixth.

This has been a strange campaign for Dundee – when they are on it, they have proved they are a match for anyone in the division. The problem has been they haven't been on it often enough.

A team bursting with goals has too often been undone by a porous defence.

It is important to point out, though, that this is the end of what is only Tony Docherty's second season as a manager in his own right. It is perhaps unsurprising that there will be ups and downs along the way.

But the Dark Blues fans will be hoping the lessons learned from the past few months can put them back on a good footing to be challenging higher up the table next season.

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Only one candidate - Lyall Cameron, with the Dundee midfielder marking what turned out to be his final appearance for the club with a double.

Cameron will join Rangers this summer.

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• St Johnstone have won just one of their past nine league games against Dundee (D4 L4), a 2-1 away triumph in October this season.

• Dundee have won both of their past two away league games at St Johnstone, as many as their previous 13 in the top flight beforehand (W2 D3 L8).

• St Johnstone have won on the final day of both of their past two league seasons, beating Livingston 2-0 in 2022-23 and Motherwell 2-1 in 2023-24.

• Dundee are winless in the final game of each of their past nine top-flight campaigns (D2 L7) since a 2-1 win at Aberdeen in 2003-04.

• St Johnstone have been relegated after losing 23 league matches this season, with the last side to lose more in a single Scottish Premiership campaign being Dundee in 2018-19 (27).

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St Johnstone boss Simo Valakari expects to be selecting from an unchanged squad, with Jonathan Svedberg (hamstring), Zach Mitchell (hamstring), Drey Wright (ankle), Bozo Mikulic (knee) and Sam McClelland (Achilles) still out.

Dundee are again without Jordan McGhee and Ethan Ingram.

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Tony Docherty says his Dundee squad has been galvanised by the "adversity" of the late penalty award in midweek that allowed Ross County to snatch a draw and keep the Dark Blues waiting for Premiership survival.

Referee Nick Walsh controversially awarded a spot-kick, scored by Ronan Hale, when Ryan Astley headed the ball on to team-mate Antonio Portales' arm.

It was the third time in three games that Docherty felt aggrieved at decisions, but he is focusing solely on Sunday's final match of the season against already-relegated St Johnstone as Dundee look to stay above second-bottom County, who host Motherwell.

"Wednesday night and Thursday, it was tough to process that for myself and the players and everybody, but that's a period that you need to go through, you need to process, but then you need to reset and that's kind of where we are now," said manager Docherty.

"And my full focus now is stuff that I can control, affect and influence. There was stuff there that I couldn't have any control over.

"We've moved on from that now and we've got together today as a group and I sense through adversity there's a real galvanising to the group.

"There's a real strong mentality that we're looking to promote and hopefully that can help us towards Sunday's match.

"In any situation, any adversity you face, you need to display resilience and it's something that's steeped in that dressing room, absolutely.

"There's good people in there, good characters, a group of players that I have a huge belief in and they were really hurting.

"We were all hurting, but when you do that together as a group and come through it together, it does bring a positive and a strong mentality and that's what I'm looking to promote. That galvanising of the group can only do good going into Sunday's game."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Tony Docherty has been speaking to the media before Dundee's final-day Premiership game with St Johnstone.

Here are the key points from the Dark Blues boss:

• Docherty remains frustrated about referee Nick Walsh's decision to award Ross County a stoppage-time penalty on Wednesday night - which prevented Dundee securing safety - and says the result was "tough to process" for himself and the players.

• But there has been a "reset" and Docherty's full focus now is on the St Johnstone game.

• He had a "brief chat" with Walsh but adds: "I don't want to talk about it because it would take my focus away from Sunday and as my job as manager."

• Docherty says the adversity has had a "real galvanising" effect on the group and there's a "strong mentality" as they look to secure survival on Sunday.

• He expects a "competitive match" despite Saints having already been relegated.

• Over 3,000 Dundee fans will be at McDiarmid Park and Docherty says: "They were outstanding the other night and I want them to be that way [again] and to really help the players."

• On whether he wants to know what's happening in Ross County v Motherwell: "Things that I can control, affect and influence, that's what I want the players to focus on."

• On the importance of keeping Dundee in the Premiership: "Absolutely, and I think you've seen that in the level of performance we put in the other night. You've seen how much it meant to every player, the fans, and we almost got that over the line but sometimes in life you face adversity and you just need to reset and go again and that's where we are."

Clive Lindsay
BBC Sport Scotland

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Ronan Hale's dramatic penalty equaliser six minutes into stoppage time not only relegated St Johnstone but rescued Ross County's hopes of escaping second bottom and a play-off to avoid dropping to the Championship themselves.

But for that goal, hosts Dundee would have been safe and dreaming of their holidays as they travel to face the doomed Saints on Sunday.

Instead, Tony Docherty's side have been dragged into a final-day shootout to avoid facing whoever wins the Premiership play-off semi-final after Friday's second leg between Livingston and Partick Thistle, which Livi lead 2-0 from the first leg.

Whichever manager finds himself in that position will come under increasing pressure amid question marks about whether they will be given the chance to chase a quick return to the top flight next season.

Don Cowie has been in this position before, being handed the County job permanently after leading his side to a play-off victory over Raith Rovers last season as interim boss.

Heading into Saturday two points adrift, the Dingwall side remain favourites to finish second bottom in three successive seasons.

Especially as they must end an eight-game run without a victory to stand a chance of leapfrogging Dundee - and even then they must also hope the Dark Blues also lose in Perth.

County had lost seven in a row before Saturday's draw opened a backdoor escape route and Motherwell arrive having lost just once in five outings, so the signs are not promising.

However, Cowie's side have not lost to Sunday's visitors in three meetings this season, winning the past two, the latest by 3-0 at Fir Park in February.

Meanwhile, in addition to that late stunner against County, Docherty has been left cursing some controversial refereeing decisions in recent weeks as he looks to extend Dundee's stay for a third season since promotion.

It leaves the Dark Blues without a win in three outings and he will be hoping Saints, who have themselves only won once in six, are not motivated into one big goodbye performance.

A repeat of the 1-1 draw at Dens Park in March would probably be enough for Docherty's side and they will take heart from the 3-1 win on their last visit to Perth in January.

Read all the final weekend Premiership picks

Sportscene pundits Charlie Mulgrew and Michael Stewart discuss the handball decision given against Dundee on Wednesday.

We asked for your views on Dundee's 1-1 draw against Ross County.

Here's what some of you said:

Neil: That penalty to Ross County at Dens would never happen at Celtic Park or Ibrox. Some referees want a bit of limelight and are willing to abandon the principle of fairness. Dundee should be safe and not facing a nervous 90 minutes in Perth. Tony Docherty's tactics didn't help in the first half.

John: Too many times this season we have thrown away games in the last 10 minutes, games we should have won comfortably. You've got to question the manager because of this. If we had won these games, we would be challenging for Europe, not sweating on the last game of the season. He will then come away with the same comments about how proud he is of the team. No matter the result on Sunday, it's time for a change, he has got to go.

Iain: The story of our season. Really poor first half. Took the lead with a very good goal, and couldn't add to it. Ridiculous penalty awarded, but we didn't do enough to beat County. 29 points lost from winning positions. Unacceptable.

David: Have the coaching staff looked at the table, goals conceded, or points thrown away? They all keep telling us we are in a good place. They are taking the fans for fools. It is abysmal, and we are not in a false position. The conceding of goals has not been addressed and has been going on for two seasons.

Watch highlights as Dundee draw 1-1 against Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.

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• Dundee have lost 28 points from winning positions in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.

• Ross County have failed to win in their last 8 games in the Premiership, their last longer winless streak was from 9th December 2023 to 17th February 2024, a run of 10 games.

• Dundee have failed to win in their last 3 games in the Premiership, their last longer winless streak was from 9th January 2025 to 1st March 2025, a run of 8 games.

• Lyall Cameron has assisted 5 goals in the Premiership this season (1 in this game), no Dundee player has more.

• Ronan Hale has scored 11 goals in the Premiership this season (1 in this game), more than any other Ross County player.

Ronan Hale's dramatic 96th-minute penalty rescued a draw for Ross County against Dundee, relegated St Johnstone, and ensures both these sides go into the final weekend of the season still battling to secure their Scottish Premiership status.

What did you make of Dundee's performance? Were they hard done by with the penalty decision?

Share your views.

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Dundee assistant manager Stuart Taylor: "We controlled the game. For large spells in the game that we were very comfortable in. I thought the lads defended really, really well and attacked really well too, creating good chances.

"So really, really disappointed we didn't get the result that we deserved and we go again on Sunday.

"I have [seen the penalty incident], but I'll leave it out for everybody else to talk about, which will be the case. So no comment from us.

"I think they managed to give a good chat after the game in the dressing room and said a few very positive comments and really set ourselves up for Sunday. So we're really looking forward to Sunday's game.

"We're in a really good place just now in terms of how we're playing.

"The lads are really confident. We've been creating chances and the amount of goals we've scored this season has been incredible and we've just got to go and do that again on Sunday as well."

Andy Burke
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Tony Docherty had called for Dundee to be calm in the midst of such a pressurised match, but much of their play in the first half betrayed a sense of nerves.

Chances in the opening 45 minutes were few and far between, but the introduction of Scott Tiffoney at the break was the catalyst for a much improved second period.

The intelligence of Cameron's through ball was the first real moment of quality, and Tiffoney displayed admirable composure to tuck away the chance.

That energised the home crowd and the team, and only some brilliant goalkeeping from Amissah prevented Dundee from calming the nerves with a second goal.

It looked like that would not matter as the seconds ticked away towards full-time, but that late penalty award was a sickening blow.

They need to bounce back, and fast.