Dundee

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Dundee manager Tony Docherty has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premiership visit of Hibernian.

Here are the key lines from his press conference:

• Defender Ziyad Larkeche will be "out for quite a while" with a hamstring injury.

• Scott Fraser is having an operation to resolve a groin issue and Docherty is hopeful he will be back in four weeks.

• The Dens boss is "really confident" his team will turn their good performances into wins and says you have to "trust the process".

• Docherty wants his players to learn from their mistakes and says the international break has been "really important to gel the squad".

• He points out the high turnover of players at the club in the summer and is striving to achieve more consistency in terms of getting a 90-minute performance.

• Docherty says his team have to hammer home the advantage when they are on top in games.

• He is expecting "a difficult game" against a Hibs team that have good players despite being bottom of the league but stresses "it is very much about us".

Dundee are seeking greater consistency this season as they look to build on their impressive exploits of last term.

It's an exciting time for the club on and off the pitch, with a new training facility on the way and plans for a state-of-the-art stadium at Camperdown awaiting council approval.

But what is the one thing nobody is talking about in relation to Dundee - good or bad?

Let us know., external

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Dundee certainly can't be accused of not giving youth a chance.

For example, seven of the 11 players who started their last game – against Aberdeen at Pittodrie – were aged 24 or younger.

Let's break that down further in terms of age: Jon McCracken (24), Ryan Astley (23), Ziyad Larkeche (22), Josh Mulligan (22), Lyall Cameron (22), Seb Palmer-Houlden (20) and Oluwaseun Adewumi (19).

And three of the five subs used during that 4-1 defeat were aged 22 or under – Finlay Robertson (22), Billy Koumetio (22) and Ethan Ingram (21).

The Dark Blues deserve to be applauded for this, but it does pose the classic football conundrum.

While it is great to see younger players getting first-team action, it also perhaps makes consistency of results harder to achieve.

Seventh-place Dundee have struggled to put winning runs together this season and the unpredictable nature of a younger starting line-up has undoubtedly been a determining factor behind some of those results.

But with so much talent in his squad, manager Tony Docherty will be confident his young charges will get into the victory groove and start delivering in a season that could still yield plenty for the Dens Park side.

Ethan Hampton
Fan writer

The prospect of playing the league's bottom team at home would normally enforce a positive mindset for fans.

Unfortunately life as a Dundee supporter develops the sense of what the worst possible outcome could be.

To lose to Hibs on their current run would be a disaster, but not unheard of. Dundee have an awful history of being the side that knocks out-of-form teams back to winning ways.

We currently have an issue with injuries too. Ziyad Larkeche has been our most consistent performer this season and he's out for months. A huge blow. He is our only natural left-back, with the second choice being midfielder Finlay Robertson, who is also out for a few weeks.

Scott Fraser appears to also be absent for the Christmas crunch of fixtures, goalkeeper Trevor Carson is out for the foreseeable and club captain Joe Shaugnessy isn't expected back until at least January.

It presents an opportunity for players who haven't been in the fold lately to step up and rise to the challenge. I am thinking of the likes of Sammy Braybrooke and Billy Koumetio.

The season doesn't hinge on this weekend, but a victory could prove hugely important by May. If we can kick Hibs while they're down, it will propel us further up the league and provide some momentum for the looming crucial festive fixtures.

While the team's performances on the pitch in the past decade have fluctuated, there's zero doubt the club has made excellent progress off the pitch.

We have been given the green light to build a training facility at Riverside and manging director John Nelms says this will wipe out 85% of the objections raised against the new stadium project at Camperdown, which is due a verdict for its planning permission in January.

These developments can help the club become a real fighting force in Scottish football again.

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

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After a hugely encouraging start to the campaign, Dundee's early-season form has stuttered.

Although they are only three points outside the top half, where they finished last term on their Premiership return, prolonged defensive issues are threatening a season that began so promisingly.

Tony Docherty's side don't have many problems finding net, given only top two Celtic and Aberdeen have scored more in the top flight this campaign.

It's at the opposite end they suffer, however, as just two teams have conceded more than the 24 goals they have shipped in 12 league games.

In addition to that, no club has had more expected goals generated (20.82) against them and the 185 shots they have faced is a league high.

Those numbers play a part in Dundee's problem with holding on to leads - they have lost eight points from winning positions this term.

And that's an issue that plagued the Dens Park side last season, despite them going on to achieve an impressive top-six finish while conceding the second-most goals in the division.

With an attack that's a constant threat at his disposal, Docherty now must find a way to tighten things up in defence if he is to build on his success.

Nottingham Forest are targeting 16-year-old Dundee goalkeeper Ally Graham, who has previously been on trial with the Premier League club. (The Courier, subscripton required), external

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip.

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Managing director John Nelms says Europe is in Dundee's sights as they target another top-six finish this season.

The Dens Park club finished sixth last term on their Premiership return but things haven't been as smooth sailing this time round, with two wins and four losses in their last six.

However, 12 matches into the campaign they sit seventh and are only three points behind St Mirren with a game in hand.

"The goal is always to be in the top six," Nelms told BBC Scotland.

"For a club like Dundee, we want to get into Europe and kind of solidify one of those six places, or one of those five places. Every year, especially this year, we are there or thereabouts.

"If we get it right and we do the recruitment in the right manner, I think you could be there or thereabouts every year."

Nelms says developing young talent is a "big focus" for the club, who led the way last season in giving Premiership game-time to Scots aged under 21, although the majority of those 3,538 minutes were racked up by one player, Lyall Cameron.

"Tony [Docherty] is focused on the development of young players, which we are as well. He has the same mindset that we have," Nelms added.

"We have developed probably more young players than most clubs have here recently. But it's a very fine line to walk. You have to get that right, you have to get the mix right, the number of young players.

"I think right now we have four Under-20 Under-21 internationals - Scotland, English and Austrian - and but we try to marry that with senior players that they can look up to and learn from."

Dundee managing director John Nelms says the Premiership club could net a further windfall in the future from 17-year-old centre-half Seb Lochhead's August transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers for a reported £300,000. (The Scotsman), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

BBC Scotland's chief sportswriter Tom English has been answering your questions on Dundee.

Ben asked: Things were looking so promising at the start of season for us but fast forward a few months and things haven't gone quite as well as a lot of Dundee fans would have expected. What do you think is the main reason for our struggle so far? Poor tactical set-up, individual errors, lack of leaders in the squad or the loss of star man Luke McCowan?

Tom answered: Certainly the loss of star man McCowan is a massive blow. I mean, you take out Callum McGregor and the Celtic team are going to feel that. This is the same. McCowan was the talisman. He was a tremendous player for Dundee and they've lost him.

I think they're five points worse off than this time last season. It's not a disaster and there are mitigating circumstances. McCowan is one.

They've had defensive injuries as well. They've had some late lapses in games. They've had some chronic errors late in games. They conceded a late winner to St Johnstone. They conceded three late goals to Kilmarnock. And I think back to the 0-0 draw they got against Rangers in April - which was probably a terminal blow for Rangers' title prospects at the time - and Dundee had in their defence Owen Dodgson, Joe Shaughnessy, Jordan McGhee and Ricki Lamie.

Now you look at what they have. Dodgson and Lamie are no longer there. McGhee has just come back into the team. He's missed plenty of games. Shaughnessy hasn't played at all this season. So Tony Doc is having to cobble together defenders and get confidence in them.

They've gone on this cycle of conceding two and three goals a game. All that confidence eats into these guys and it just becomes a perpetual cycle that they can't stop conceding goals. They get towards the end of games and they get a bit jittery. They're lucky that Tony Doc is the guy who's done it before. Last season I think he had a tremendous season and I would bank on him to do it again.

He's an extremely experienced football man and I think he'll fix it. But they're doing fine. This is by no means a disaster.

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Dundee manager Tony Docherty will have much to ponder during this international break.

He cut a frustrated figure after his side's 4-1 weekend defeat at Aberdeen and his quote "the overriding thing is we're here to win games of football" was quite telling.

Yes, there has been a lot to like about their performances over the last few months, including spells of the showing at Pittodrie. But football is a results business, and however you dice it up, the Dark Blues have found getting wins on the board a real struggle.

That is something Docherty knows will have to change when they return to action later this month.

The stats don't lie – Dundee have won just two of their last 10 league games and three in 12 in total this season. It is a continuation of their poor end to last term when they completed the campaign with no Premiership wins in eight.

They have also been conceding far too many goals this season. However, the cloud of Dundee struggles does have a silver lining – Docherty's side are seventh in the table and the season has a long way to run.

Two or three wins would get them moving in the right direction again and make things look a whole lot better.

Their next game, at home to bottom club Hibs, would be a good place to start.

Image source, BBC Sport

Dundee chief executive John Nelms has revealed he wants to have another crack at playing a Scottish Premiership game in the United States after they and Celtic explored the possibility of doing just that in 2015. (The Herald), external

Ethan Hampton
Fan writer

Going into the game at Pittodrie I felt it was the best time to play Aberdeen. That looks a little silly now but truth be told it was never a 4-1 kind of game.

It was a very good first half to watch for the neutral, both teams were open and direct. It felt like I was watching fencing in the way both sides were continuously probing each other for a lapse in the other's defence.

Oluwaseun Adewumi was through on goal and should have sent Dundee into the lead, but his finish lacked conviction.

Then Simon Murray's penalty just before half-time was very tame and easily saved. It felt like a lazy effort with very little power and placement – just relying on the goalkeeper going the wrong way.

Goalless at the break and we could have been two up.

Jimmy Thelin's side are still rivalling Celtic in November and that isn't by accident. A few tweaks from the Swedish tactician in the second half pushed the Dons on to the front foot and as quickly as they drew first blood they soon doubled their advantage.

Once again Dundee were littered with mistakes in their attempts to defend and frustratingly it's not down to any particular individual. That makes it more difficult to fix as the issue appears to be systemic.

Coupled with the lack of clinical finishing, it distracts attention from the positives of the performance.

Murray did get on the end of a delicate cross from Scott Tiffoney to pull one back, but just as Dundee got a foot back in the door, we conceded immediately from kick-off and the door slammed shut.

That just about sums Dundee up. Aberdeen go on to win by a comprehensive scoreline, Dundee head into the international break wounded.

I feel like a propaganda machine when it comes to praising the same individuals for their positive displays but it must be said that Josh Mulligan and Scott Tiffoney were a greatly positive force in an otherwise dire outcome.

In regards to the break it's another chance to press the restart button. We're one win away from getting back into the top six, we need to grind out good results and levels of defending after the break to show our top-six credentials.

Producing homegrown players for the Dundee first team remains a part of the club's business strategy, says managing director John Nelms. (Herald - subscription), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

What would you like to ask Tom English about Dundee?

Our chief sportswriter is in the hotseat ready to answer your questions and offer his insight and opinion on your club.

Answers will be provided on Tuesday’s episode of the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast and on this page later in the week.

Put your questions to Tom here., external

Jordan McGhee returned from injury two months ahead of schedule and is eager to help Dundee solve their defensive problems. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish gossip

Watch highlights of Aberdeen's 4-1 win against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

(Available to UK audiences only)

We asked for your views on Dundee's 4-1 defeat against Aberdeen.

Here's what some of you said:

Dudley: Yet another defensive shambles, last season we were the second worst in the division, it's the same this year. We were promised quality this season, over quantity, that has not happened. The team can't play for 90 minutes, they're not fit. Clueless all over the pitch, we can't do the simple basics correctly.

Gary: Classic example of the importance of end product. We were competitive and Simon Murray will be more disappointed with his penalty than anyone, but they couldn't take the opportunities to score. Team selection was decent, although Lyall Cameron is only showing in flashes his pre-Luke McCowan levels, so there was scope for Scott Tiffoney to start as he looked dangerous.

Mark: Worrying times for Dee fans, those bottom three places look like a straight fight between us, St Johnstone and Ross County. All Scottish football fans know Hearts and Hibs wont be at the bottom at the end of the season.

Ronnie: Dundee held their own and then some in the first half. If's and but's about the penalty and whether scoring it would have changed the result, unlikely. This team switches off like a light. Not capable of thinking when under pressure and showing unbelievable naivety. Pretty performance and 2-0 down again and again and again. Sort it out Doc!

Image source, SNS

• Aberdeen have scored eight goals via substitutes in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.

• Aberdeen have scored four goals in a game for the first time since 15 May 2024 against Livingston (W5-1).

• Kevin Nisbet has scored his third goal in the Premiership this season, netting for the first time since 28 September 2024 against Dundee.

• Dundee have conceded six goals to opposition substitutes in the Premiership this season, no team has conceded more.

Aberdeen bounced back from their League Cup semi-final humbling to move ahead of Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership after a sizzling second-half showing at home to Dundee.

Ante Palaversa’s classy finish broke the deadlock at a sold-out Pittodrie, and within four minutes it was two when Topi Keskinen lashed the ball through the legs of Jon McCracken.

Dundee briefly rallied, and Simon Murray - who had a first-half penalty saved - glanced a header into the far corner.

However, their revival was doused just moments later when Vicente Besuijen - only on the pitch for just 42 seconds - raced onto a Kevin Nisbet through ball to finish.

And Nisbet added a late fourth himself, as his deflected shot evaded Jon McCracken.

Jimmy Thelin’s side - who suffered a first defeat of the campaign in losing 6-0 to Celtic in the League Cup semi-finals last weekend - were more like themselves as they extended their unbeaten league run to 11.

Dundee - the last team to beat Aberdeen in the league at Dens Park back in March - drop to seventh as their winless run at Pittodrie stretches to 16 games.

Dundee fans, whether you were at Pittodrie or following from home, we want your thoughts on the game., external

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "I think it's fact that we were the better side [in the first half]. If we come in 2-0, it's an accurate reflection of the game.

"Bitterly disappointed with the nature, the manner of the goals. We lose three goals from set-plays. The first one, not doing our job, not taking responsibility. The second one's a throw-in, we make a mistake and it's just so easy to score a goal against us.

"The third goal is beyond me. I've never seen that in all my years. We need to make sure we get better. We've been blighted all season by individual mistakes.

"Aberdeen didn't need to do much to score goals or win the game today. To lose those goals in the manner we lost them was disappointing.

"There are positives within the performance, but the overriding thing is we're here to win games of football.

"[Finlay Robertson] is going to A&E. He got quite a bad kick and it's swollen up. He's in a bit of discomfort - we're just sending him up there as a precaution. Our thoughts are with him and hopefully it's not too bad."

Andrew Southwick
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

In Dundee's last two games they had found themselves having to pull back a two-goal deficit. The message from manager Tony Docherty was clearly to be on the front foot from the off.

Few inside Pittodrie could have argued had Dundee lead at the break. Oluweaseun Adewumi twice caused panic in the box while Seb Palmer-Houldon skidded a shot across goal.

However, for the second time against Aberdeen this season they were left to rue their finishing, none more so than Simon Murray after his weak penalty was saved.

They had more than matched Aberdeen for 45 minutes, much like earlier in the season, but again couldn’t breach the Dons backline more than once.

Docherty's men could not keep the tempo going after an encouraging first half and a more subdued Dundee were unable to post a first Pittodrie league win since 2004.

Aberdeen: Mitov, Devlin, Mackenzie, Molloy, Rubezic, Shinnie, Palaversa, Duk, Clarkson, Keskinen, Sokler.

Substitutes: Doohan, Nisbet, McGarry, Besuijen, Morris, Milne, MacDonald, Ambrose, Stewart.

Dundee: McCracken, C.Robertson, Astley, McGhee, Mulligan, Cameron, Adewumi, Murray, Larkeche, Palmer-Houlden, Sylla

Substitutes: Sharp, Ingram, Tiffoney, Main, F.Robertson, Koumetio, Braybrooke, Portales.