Dundee

Watch all the action from Dundee's victory over St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "I'm massively proud of the players and the team.

"The loss of Antonio Portales brings our tally of injured experienced players to six now. Within 20 minutes we lost both centre halves and the easiest thing for the players to do was to feel sorry for themselves but they dug out and got a result.

"At half-time I said: 'look lads, we need to do more, we need to win ugly,' and we did that.

"There were some critics, understandably, and I asked the boys to stand up to that. That shows their mentality, spirit and resilience."

Dundee fans, you must be pleased with that!

Give us your thoughts on Sunday's 2-1 away win over St Mirren here, external.

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No surprises here.

Simon Murray's ninth and tenth goals of the season provided the difference.

Adam Binnie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Tony Docherty got his reward for a brave switch to a 3-4-3 formation as he opted to start with three number nines in Simon Murray, Seb Palmer-Houlden and Oluwaseun Adewumi.

Albeit an attacking XI on paper, Dundee struggled to gain control. St Mirren enjoyed more possession, had more shots and looked likelier before Murray's winner.

However, despite surrendering control of the midfield, Docherty's decision to have his three strikers on the pitch paid off.

Murray will rightfully get the headlines but Palmer-Houlden and Adewumi did a great job of occupying St Mirren's back three.

This forced the hosts' wing-backs to retreat, allowing more space for Finlay Robertson and Josh Mulligan to throw crosses into the box from wide areas.

Ultimately, both goals came from crosses and Dundee close 2024 with an important three points.

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St Mirren left-back Scott Tanser returns from suspension, while forward Conor McMenamin is working his way back to fitness.

But captain Mark O'Hara remains out with a thigh problem.

Dundee manager Tony Docherty will assess the fitness of Jordan McGhee and Antonio Portales after the defenders came off in the defeat by Ross County with illness and a tight hamstring respectively.

Ziyad Larkeche, Scott Fraser, Joe Shaughnessy and Clark Robertson remain out.

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• St Mirren have won five of their last six home games against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership (L1), including their last three in a row since a 0-1 defeat in October 2021.

• Dundee have only enjoyed two wins in their last 13 Scottish Premiership meetings with St Mirren (D3 L8), a 1-0 victory in October 2021 and 4-0 in November 2023.

• St Mirren have only won one of the last five occasions in which their final top-flight match of a calendar year has been at home (D2 L2), a 1-0 victory over Kilmarnock in 2019.

• Excluding years in which they were relegated, Dundee have lost their final top-flight game of a calendar year in nine of their last 12 attempts (W2 D1), although did draw 2-2 with Kilmarnock in their final such match in 2023.

• Six of St Mirren's last eight Scottish Premiership goals against Dundee have either been scored by Mikael Mandron (three) or Toyosi Olusanya (three).

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Dundee have recalled defender Luke Graham from his loan spell at Scottish Championship leaders Falkirk.

The 20-year-old will return to his parent club on 1 January, having made 14 appearances for Falkirk since joining in September.

"Dundee Football Club would like to place on record their sincere thanks to Falkirk FC for how they have looked after and developed Luke during his time with them," a club statement said.

"We thank John McGlynn and his coaching staff for the opportunity they have given Luke in the first team at Falkirk.

"Everyone at Dundee Football Club looks forward to welcoming Luke back."

Sportscene pundits Scott Allan and Steven Naismith analyse Dundee's performance in their 3-0 defeat by Ross County in the Scottish Premiership.

We asked for your thoughts on Dundee's 3-0 Boxing Day defeat by Ross County.

Here's what some of you said:

Alan H: Ross County was a must-win game. We could do with an inspirational signing or two in the transfer window. Our defensive frailty has been a constant problem since Joe Shaughnessy injury.

Martin: It's going to be a long season for Dundee fans, in the last four games the team has managed to have 86 shots against and a mere 29 for. On those stats you will not win many games. Relegation fight is looking ominous.

Steven: What an utter shambles, time for Tony Docherty to go. I could write a book on that embarrassing display, who knows who's playing where, every game is different. The only crack of light was the appearance of Sean Kelly, he actually looked like a professional footballer.

Alan W: Dundee were dire against Ross County. We were overrun again in midfield, far too slow and ponderous in our build-up and showed very little fighting spirit. Tactically, we were a mess and the manager's second half changes had no impact on the game. I hate to say it but Dundee must now be strong candidates for relegation.

Carl: The natives are restless at Dens, and no small wonder. A display of complete dross, with no obvious leadership on or off the pitch meant the post-match pint conversation heard the word relegation mentioned more than a few times. Time for a change of formation Mr Docherty?

Boab: Absolutely horrific, no one seemed interested and one of the worst performances in my near 55 years at Dens. Docherty says he takes full responsibility so surely he must see that three at the back doesn't work. Gutted.

Adam: Dundee are the Spurs of Scotland. Least other teams think that as guaranteed to score. Good work spoilt by sloppy passing. Often by the same players who get a game most weeks.

Arthur: In my 70 years I've seen some rubbish Dundee teams, but this is not one of them. We have decent players but it's a case of lions led by donkeys. Time for a new management team as the current one don't know you can change the game from the sidelines.

Watch highlights from Ross County's 3-0 victory against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

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• Dundee have lost their past three games in the Scottish Premiership, their last joint longest losing streak was from 14 September 2024 to 5 October 2024.

• Ross County attempted 22 shots in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Dundee have failed to score in their past three games in the Premiership, a run of 324 minutes without a goal.

• Dundee attempted 522 passes in this game, their highest total in a single match in the Premiership this season.

• Dundee have failed to score in their past three games in the Premiership, their last longer run of games without scoring a goal in the competition was a run of four games from 28 August 2021 to 25 September 2021.

• County have scored in each of their past three games in the Premiership, scoring five goals in that run.

• Ross County have scored in their past three games in the Premiership, their longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of four games from 14 September 2024 to 6 October 2024.

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty told BBC Scotland: "Extremely disappointed. Ross County came here with a game plan, everybody behind the ball. We had to find a way to break them down and we didn't do that.

"We were a bit pedestrian with our play. They left us on the ball and we had to find ways to get in behind them, and we never did that.

"Up to the 70 minute [mark], we're trying and trying and get more width in the game. I take full responsibility, I make changes that expose us more defensively and we go on to lose the game 3-0. I take responsibility for the way the game ended.

"We need to take more responsibility. When we're at home, the form we're on, we should be better than that.

"I didn't see that coming today because we knew we'd have to work the ball into wide areas, make good decisions, eliminate players one-on-one and we didn't do that.

"I apologise to the home fans for that. We've been good this season, and all we can do is make sure we win that derby at home."

"I feel a bit let down today, we could have done so much more."

Ross County ended a wait of 15 months for an away victory in style by galloping to a 3-0 win over Dundee that lifts them four points clear of the bottom of the Scottish Premiership.

County rise to 10th in the league table, moving a point behind ninth-placed Dundee.

What did you make of that, Dundee fans? What went so wrong for your side?

Are you worried about getting dragged into the relegation race?

Let us know your thoughts, external.

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Everything that Dundee have been lauded for over the last 16 months since their return to the topflight was missing against Ross County.

They offered very little up front and looked porous at the back. It was little surprise Tony Docherty changed two at half-time, but it could have been even more.

They were slow out the blocks and never really fired a shot at their visitors, and the worry is that County are now chasing them down at the bottom of the table.

The penalty, conceded by Mulligan, might rankle the most. It was a lazy challenge that killed off any hope of fighting back - something Dundee are normally decent at - and epitomised the sluggish nature of their play today.

They have shown plenty of courage and grit on numerous occasions since they came back to the Premiership, but they need to be careful or else they'll be dragged into the quagmire with Hearts, County and St Johnstone.

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Dundee attacker Oluwaseun Adewumi is back in the squad while Simon Murray has recovered from the illness that restricted him to a substitute appearance at Ibrox.

Ziyad Larkeche (hamstring), Scott Fraser (groin), Joe Shaughnessy (knee) and Clark Robertson (thigh) remain out.

Ross County's Alex Samuel is out long-term with a thigh injury and Eli Campbell's knee problem keeps him out.

Ricki Lamie is back in training and could come into contention while Will Nightingale (knee) is still out.

• Dundee have won their last three home league games, scoring 3+ goals in each (11 in total). Ross County, meanwhile, are winless in their last 25 away matches in the Scottish Premiership (D9 L16), losing their last three in a row while conceding 3+ goals in each (11 total).

• Dundee's 2-0 win over Ross County in February last season ended a seven-game winless run at home to the Staggies in the Scottish Premiership (D3 L4).

• Ross County have won 50% of their top-flight meetings with Dundee (12/24) – their best ratio against any opponent in Scotland's top tier.

• Dundee's last top-flight win on Boxing Day came in 2000 (3-0 v Motherwell), with the Dark Blues losing six of seven such matches since (D1).

• Ross County have lost their last three league games on Boxing Day; their last such win, though, was over Dundee in 2015 (5-2).

Dundee manager Tony Docherty is optimistic about the club's link-up with Mexican club Monterray. (Herald - subscription), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish gossip

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Tony Docherty hopes Dundee's partnership with Mexican club Monterrey will help his side be "ahead of the game" following the arrival of 19-year-old Cesar Garza on loan.

The defensive midfielder has arrived in Dundee ahead of a January loan move and comes with first-team experience with the five-times CONCACAF Champions League winners.

"He's a good character," Docherty said.

"Obviously our experience with Antonio Portales and the amount that we've watched him, we're confident we're bringing in a really good player and again, it will increase competition for places.

"Antonio was a young player at Monterrey himself, so he knows. He's been here, he's settled in.

"He's come in and he's met the rest of the boys and he'll train with us over the next couple of days, but really excited to get him in the building.

"The thing I really need to commend the club on, particularly [owners] John Nelms and Tim Keyes, we're always thinking outside the box. Where can we look at another market?

"We've established a partnership with a fantastic club in Monterrey.

"The by-product of that is that we'll get good players in, they'll get good experience coming and playing in Scotland and it's just another way you're trying to be a wee bit ahead of the game."

Watch Sportscene analysis of Dundee's 1-0 defeat against Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

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Watch the best of the action from Ibrox as Rangers win 1-0 against Dundee in the Scottish Premiership.

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