Dundee

We asked which departing loan players you would potentially like to see return to Dundee next season.

Here's what some of you had to say...

Dark Blue: Would like to see Aaron Donnelly back as he played quite well for us. Amadou Bakayoko a decent target man but needs more goals in his game. Would love Owen Beck back but have a feeling he'll be in demand after a fantastic spell for us. The others, nobody in there I'd say is a must, maybe Boateng but the others would be squad players.

Kevin: Beck the obvious choice to stay but unfortunately this won't happen. As for the rest, Donnelly, Boateng and Jon McCracken definitely worth a punt if we can afford them.

Jim: Beck and Bakayoko definitely. Possibly wishful thinking but never say never. Get Luke McCowan and Lyall Cameron tied to longer term deals. More permanent signings could be good but Tony Docherty has worked the loan market well and may produce a couple of good players that way again. We definitely need to get a more solid back line. Too many goals conceded this season.

George: Get back Beck and Michael Mellon. Zach Robinson could be worth a gamble. If he gets a few goals early on he may settle. We need a good goal scorer like Simon Murray of Ross County.

Ben: Would like to see McCracken, Donnelly and Boateng all return permanently next season. I personally think the criticism of Bakayoko and Robinson from sections of the fanbase this season has been a bit over the top, and I'd welcome both back on permanent deals. Getting Beck back would be the dream, however probably a bit unrealistic.

Raith Rovers face competition in their attempt to sign Shaun Byrne, who is leaving Dundee after his loan spell in Kirkcaldy, with Dunfermline Athletic, Livingston, Partick Thistle and Larne also chasing the 30-year-old midfielder. (The Courier), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

Dundee have waved goodbye to their army of loan players from a successful season.

Owen Beck, Amadou Bakayoko, Malachi Boateng, Owen Dodgson, Michael Mellon, Ricki Lamie, Zach Robinson, Jon McCracken, Aaron Donnelly, Dara Costelloe and Ryan Howley have all returned to their parent clubs.

Who would you like to see return to Dens Park next term? Would you be keen for more permanent signings from Tony Docherty?

Let us know. , external

Dundee boss Tony Docherty insists the club isn’t going to give up on January signing Ryan Astley - despite the 23-year-old only having had a brief runaround since joining from Everton. (The Courier, external)

Read the rest of today's Scottish football gossip here

Dundee defender Antonio Portales is excited for his first taste of the Dundee derby next season, and has his eyes on an international call-up. (The Courier, external)

Read the rest of Saturday's gossip here.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

As the dust begins to settle on a fine season for Dundee, manager Tony Docherty and his players can look back with a real sense of satisfaction and pride.

One which began with the Premiership new boys aiming for top-flight survival ended with them finishing in the top half of the table and knocking on the door of Europe, something Docherty described as "a remarkable achievement".

It was definitely a campaign which saw the Dark Blues exceed expectations, but those expectations will now be raised going forward, and that is the challenge for Docherty. He now has to find a way to build on his side's progress.

It was a busy summer last term as he built a new-look squad from scratch, and it looks like there will be plenty more business in the coming months.

The club have announced a number of departures following the conclusion of the season, including all 11 of their loan players.

While some of those leaving could yet return, there is plenty of work to do as Dundee look to assemble a squad capable of competiting at the right end of the table.

Given the deals done since Docherty arrived at the club, Dundee fans will be confident their manager can deliver again.

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Steven Caulker has been speaking about his six-month spell at Dundee, admitting he "had incidents when I didn’t know what had happened" as he battled alcohol and gambling addictions.

The centre-back arrived at Dens Park in February 2018, scored on his debut and went on to make 17 appearances, with form good enough to attract a rejected bid from Rosenborg in Norway.

However, he tells the BBC's Sacked in the Morning podcast: "I’d lost myself at the age of 25, 26.

"Coming from Tottenham and Liverpool, it felt like I’d been rejected from the top level.

"I was going through the challenge of thinking I’m not good enough and I needed to find that self-belief.

"I’d drink. I’d black out. Eight times out of 10 times it would be fine with alcohol, but I had incidents at Dundee when I didn’t know what had happened."

Read the full piece: Rehab at 19, betting & blackouts, unimpressed by Pirlo

Daniel Smith
Fan writer

And so, yet another score draw against Kilmarnock on Saturday closed the curtains on a very successful first season back in the Premiership for Dundee.

I doubt any fan would have thought we would be challenging for a European place with just a few games remaining. In fact, I suspect most thought we would be fighting to evade the relegation play-off.

We punched well above our weight, which may also have been help by how badly a few clubs with vastly bigger budgets performed, but it doesn't take away from the top-six achievement we claimed over six more established top-flight teams.

Unfortunately, we hit a ceiling to as how far we could go, but I see this as a glass ceiling and one the whole club will be looking to shatter next season.

The board have announced an extraordinary general meeting to convert £9m of losses into shares and potentially see up to £4m invested into the club.

The owners of Burnley, ALK, are involved in the club now and this scenario looks like their way of helping us out by gaining shares along the way.

It all makes for a very interesting summer for Dundee. One that I hope that sees us improving on areas that need improving and, for once in my life, Dundee building on the feelgood factor that surrounds the club.

Until next season, Mon The Dee!

Daniel Smith can be found at Up Wi' The Bonnets, external

On-loan striker Amadou Bakayoko says he’d “love it” if he got the chance to return to Dundee next season. (Courier), external

Read the rest of Tuesday's Scottish gossip.

Peter Grant says there would be "nothing wrong" with Scotland boss Steve Clarke taking Dundee midfielder Luke McCowan to the Euros.

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Tyler French and Shaun Byrne have left Dundee at the expiry of their contracts.

The pair - who both won the Championship at Dens Park - spent last season on loan with second-tier sides, with French once again featuring for Greenock Morton, while Byrne joined Raith Rovers.

Jack Wilkie, 21, has also left the club having made his Dundee debut in July 2020 but struggling to break into the team on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, all of Dundee's loan players from this season have returned to their parent clubs.

The Burnley contingent of Michael Mellon, Owen Dodgsen and Dara Costelloe all head back to Turf Moor, while Liverpool's Owen Beck, Aaron Donnelly of Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace's Malachi Boateng move back to Premier League sides.

Amadou Bakayoko, Jon McCracken, Rickie Lamie, Zach Robinson and Ryan Howley's loan spells have also ended.

Dundee players under contract for next season: Adam Legzdins, Cammy Kerr, Ryan Astley, Joe Shaughnessy, Jordan McGhee, Scott Tiffoney, Curtis Main, Lyall Cameron, Diego Pineda, Lee Ashcroft, Josh Mulligan, Luke McCowan, Charlie Reilly, Finlay Robertson, Zak Rudden, Max Anderson, Mo Sylla, Antonio Portales, Harry Sharp, Trevor Carson

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland at Dens Park

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Luke McCowan is keen to “enjoy and relish the challenge” of meeting the high expectations he believes will be placed upon Dundee next season.

The midfielder netted in the first half, before missing an 88th minute penalty that would have sealed three points on the final day at Dens Park – a moment McCowan told BBC Scotland he is keen to “learn from.”

“Moments like that through the season, not just for myself but for the team, that you probably look back on and you know that you are going to learn from.

“It has probably been my best season as a footballer. But I know next year there will be more to come and I will motivate myself to get going again next year.

“The challenge for any team, especially if you overachieve, is that as soon as you put pressure on yourself for overachieving then you will lose that [motivation]. I think you have just got to enjoy and relish the challenge.”

We asked for your views following Dundee's final day 1-1 draw versus Kilmarnock.

Here's what some of you all had to say:

Doug: The proverbial game of two halves. When the dust settled, it was just about right that the honours were shared. Kilmarnock were unlucky with a couple of shots off the bar, and the less said the better about the Dundee penalty strike... All-in-all a surprisingly successful season for Dundee, and hopefully they can keep it up in season 24/25.

Gary: The usual script in games against Killie this season - either side could’ve won it. A great atmosphere though to end a decent season, well done to the players and staff. Hopefully we can retain some, enhance what we have, add some new additions and have a go at matching some of the standards set this term!

Thomas: Dundee won only 10 of 38 league games, letting in almost 70 goals. They went out of both cups early, had the postponements fiasco, and have still not put a brick down at the proposed new stadium. Home fans have hovered around the 5,000 mark. A great season? I don't think so.

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• Kilmarnock have lost 21 points from winning positions in the Scottish Premiership this season, only Dundee (25) have lost more.

• Dundee have failed to win in their last eight games in the Scottish Premiership, their last longer winless streak was from 20 February 2022 to 7 May 2022, a run of 11 games.

• Luke McCowan has scored 10 goals this season (one in this game), more than any other Dundee player in the Scottish Premiership.

• Robbie Deas received his first red card in the Scottish Premiership (30th appearance).

• Dundee have scored 10 goals in the last 15 minutes of the first half, only Rangers (18) and Celtic (15) have scored more in the Scottish Premiership this season.

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty told BBC Scotland: "We should have shook hands at the start of the game and agreed on a draw! It was another entertaining game against a good team who've had a successful season.

"It was a game of two halves. They were better first half, we didn't do a lot. I asked the players to be braver and they were. We could and should have got our just rewards.

"I want to reflect on the season and recognise the achievement of the players this season.

"The thing that pleases me most is I said I wanted to create a synergy or a relationship between fans and players. I wanted to put a team on the pitch that had an identity and style of play. You could see today, at the end with the reaction of the fans, that we've managed to do that.

"It's important that we identify things we've done well and things we can do better, there's still loads of room for improvement. I'm sure we'll have a real go at it. To have achieved top six is a remarkable achievement and a testament to the staff and players."

For the fourth time this league season, Dundee and Kilmarnock couldn’t be separated as they both finished successful seasons with a draw at Dens Park.

After a slow start, Kilmarnock took the lead through Gary Mackay-Steven - who was making his first start on possibly his final appearance for the club.

Dundee hit back when Scott Tiffoney sprung the offside trap and played Luke McCowan in, with the deputising captain firing in. The effort was initially disallowed but VAR intervened to award the goal.

Kilmarnock hit the bar twice in the second-half and had Robbie Deas sent off for a second yellow, while McCowan missed a penalty to seal victory for Dundee in the 88th minute.

What did you make of that, Dundee fans? Should you have won? Did you expect Luke McCowan to score from the spot?

Let us know your thoughts.

Image source, SNS

Luke McCowan. There have been, rightfully, a lot of plaudits for Lyall Cameron but McCowan has carried this Dundee at times this season, and has announced himself as a solid Premiership attacker this year.

Again today, he was the creative fulcrum all day - until he missed the penalty. A rare slip up from a player destined to go higher.