Dundee

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty tells BBC Scotland: "I think we have performed better, but it was a thoroughly satisfactory result.

"In the first half we never quite got to grips with the game - maybe it was the change of shape.

"In the second half, there was a real resilience. I asked my players to stand up today and, my god, they stood up. I'm really proud of them.

"I thought Michael Mellon had an outstanding debut. The kid came on for, I think, 30 minutes and he's got two assists and a goal."

Cam Wanstall, BBC Sport Scotland

Tony Docherty's side grew into the game after a slow start and never looked like dropping points - even after Luke McCowan's dismissal and Tete Yengi's spot-kick.

It would be easy to pin the performance on Livingston's failings, but credit must be given to a well-oiled team who showed class throughout and were ruthless in front of goal.

Harrison Sharp impressed in goal with numerous fine stops, while the backline and midfield five refused to yield any space to the home side - even with only ten men on the park.

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Take a bow, Michael Mellon.

What better way to show your new club your quality than two assists and a goal off the bench. A truly terrific showing from the Scotland under-21 international.

Tony Docherty opts to make a change in goal, with Harry Sharp replacing Trevor Carson.

Midfielders Finlay Robertson, Mohamed Sylla and Scott Tiffoney come in for benched trio Lyall Cameron, Malachi Boateng and Zach Robinson.

There is a place on the bench for new arrival Michael Mellon, who joined on loan from Premier League outfit Burnley on Friday.

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Livingston: McGovern, Donnellan, Nottingham, Obileye, Penrice, Holt, Kelly, Bradley, Shinnie, MacKay, Anderson.

Substitutes: George, Brandon, Nouble, Sangare, Kelly, Yengi, Ledingham, Culbert, Samson.

Dundee: Sharp, Shaughnessy, Ashcroft, McGhee, Costello, Sylla, Robertson, McCowan, Dodgson, Tiffoney, Bakayoko.

Substitutes: Legzdins, Astley, Main, Cameron, Mulligan, Robinson, Howley, Boateng, Mellon.

Livingston will be without Jack Hamilton and Cristian Montano. Tete Yengi and Ayo Obileye are likely to return after recent injuries while captain Michael Devlin is expected to be fit despite going off last weekend.

Dundee have signed Burnley striker Michael Mellon on loan while midfielder Luke McCowan has shaken off the tight hamstring he experienced against Hearts. Cammy Kerr and Zak Rudden have left in loan moves. Aaron Donnelly, Ricki Lamie, Diego Pineda and Antonio Portales remain out.

Did you know? Livingston have 12 wins in league meetings with Dundee, half the number of Dundee's tally.

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Dundee have used their partnership with Burnley to secure the loan signing of striker Michael Mellon.

The 20-year-old shone in League Two in this first half of this season, scoring 13 goals in 22 league appearances while on loan at Morecombe.

Mellon, who came through Manchester United's academy before joining Burnley, has also been capped by Scotland at under-21 level, and is the third Burnley player to sign for the Dark Blues this month, after Dara Costelloe and Owen Dodgson.

"He is a player of such high calibre and a player that we’ve been tracking for a long time," manager Tony Docherty said.

"We are indebted to Burnley Football Club and our partnership with them for helping us bring Michael in when he had so many suitors. We are now seeing the fruits of the partnership with Burnley, as we now have three talented young players from them that I believe will help us this season.

“Michael is a fantastic footballer, he’s not just a goal-scorer, he’s more than that. When you look at his all-round play, he’s strong, he’s quick, he’s got great technical ability and his link-up play is very good. But his biggest quality is his knack of scoring goals."

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Dundee striker Zak Rudden has joined Championship side Raith Rovers on loan until the end of the season.

Rudden has been in and out of the Dundee starting XI this season, scoring two goals in 14 league games.

He is immediately available for Rovers, and could make his debut against Inverness CT on Saturday.

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Tyrone Smith, BBC Scotland

Dundee striker Zach Robinson says throwing away points from winning positions is "something that has happened too much this season".

The Dark Blues squandered a two-goal lead before losing 3-2 away to Heart of Midlothian in Tuesday's Scottish Premiership encounter at Tynecastle.

"Definitely lessons to be learned," Robinson said. "Today, we have been looking at how to fix that and go forward.

"It is a bunch of things - taking responsibility on the pitch, individual errors, or collectively making sure things don’t happen."

Dundee remain handily positioned in eighth place in the table, with games in hand on the teams above them, but Robinson has warned that they have to learn to hold on to any leads.

"You don’t want to look at the league table too much," he added. "But we believe, if we keep doing what we are doing, improving on what we are doing, we will be in a good place.

"We are a young squad, but it is no excuse to lose leads like we have done this season and it is definitely something we are not happy about. I think, just as a collective, we need to take more responsibility out there."

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• After winning three consecutive matches against Dundee between January and May 2022, Livingston have since lost each of their last two against the Dee, failing to score in both matches (0-2 & 0-1).

• Dundee won their last league visit to Livingston (2-0, October 2023) and are looking to make it consecutive such wins on the road against them for the first time since May 2019.

• Livingston have failed to win any of their last six league matches at home (D2 L4), last going on a longer winless streak at home in the top-flight between May and November 2005 (run of nine).

• Dundee have only won one of their last seven league games (D2 L4), and could lose back-to-back Scottish Premiership matches for the first time this season, after losing 3-2 to Hearts last time out.

• Livingston are the lowest scorers in the Scottish Premiership this season, netting just 12 times from 21 matches and drawing a blank in 12 different matches, more than any other team.

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Tyrone Smith, BBC Sport Scotland

Dundee manager Tony Docherty believes the loan market has helped him build stability at the club after he inherited a threadbare squad in the summer.

The Dark Blues have signed several loanees during the course of the season, and Docherty says he has been able to use them as "building blocks" as he plans for long-term success.

"What you need to do is get stability in your football club first," Docherty said.

"I came in here in the summer and there were only three signed players, so it is important that you build a squad that is robust for the season, but you do it as a foundation and you use it as a building block to move on from that. That is the benefit you can get from bringing in loan players.

"Then you can develop from that; when you want to build your football club you want to do it on the basis of full-time employees. It is part of a process that we are endeavouring to do at the moment.

"And we will keep doing that, we will keep trying to progress the club forward in any way we can."

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Tyrone Smith, BBC Sport Scotland

Dundee manager Tony Docherty has been speaking to the media before his side's Premiership trip to bottom club Livingston on Saturday.

Here are the key lines from his press conference:

• On long-serving Cammy Kerr's loan move to Inverness CT, Docherty said it was "difficult" letting him go but says he couldn't guarantee him game time and described him as being "one of the best professionals I have ever worked with".

• Docherty says he is still "looking to do a couple of things" in this transfer window, adding that Burnley striker Michael Mellon is "one among many" players they are looking at, describing him as "a fantastic footballer". Did warn a lot of clubs are looking at him.

• Docherty was asked if there was any chance Owen Beck could return on loan. He says they "certainly would welcome him back", but it depends what Liverpool's aspirations are for him.

• After the midweek defeat to Hearts, Docherty said the first-half performance was "as good I've seen" and thinks his players will learn from the nature of the loss.

• On the recently announced link-up with Burnley, and the prospect of some Dundee players eventually heading there, he said there is "no doubt if we continue to develop good young footballers, there is a pathway".

• There are no fresh injury worries before the game.

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The Scottish Premiership fixture between Dundee and St Johnstone will now take place on Sunday, 11 February (14:00).

The game was originally scheduled to be played on 2 December but the game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch at Dens Park.

It was then rearranged for Wednesday, 14 February, but with both clubs out of the Scottish Cup, they have agreed to move the game forward to a weekend date.

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Dundee full-back Cammy Kerr has joined Scottish Championship side Inverness Caledonian Thistle on a loan deal until the end of this season.

Kerr has not been a regular starter for Tony Docherty's side this season, and now heads to the Highlands in search of a starting berth.

The 28-year-old had his Dundee testimonial earlier this season, and remains under contract at Dens Park until the summer of 2025.

Former captain Charlie Adam played a key initial role in Dundee and Burnley striking their strategic partnership. (Daily Record)

Dundee must quickly learn to be streetwise after the collapse against Heart of Midlothian, says defender Jordan McGhee. (The Courier)

Read all the rest of Thursday's gossip.

Dundee return to league action with a trip to Livingston on Saturday, hoping to bounce back from their Scottish Cup defeat against Kilmarnock.

What team would you pick if you were in Tony Docherty's shoes? Choose your Dundee team here.

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Former Dundee striker Rory Loy says the club's 3-2 defeat to Hearts on Tuesday will "sting", and believes manager Tony Docherty will have a tough task raising the spirits of his players after their collapse at Tynecastle.

Dundee led 2-0 through goals from Jordan McGhee and Lyall Cameron, but conceded three second-half goals and ultimately came away with nothing.

"This will sting for Docherty," Loy said, speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "To lose the game from such a comfortable position will hurt.

"There's so many things you could look at. Was it a little bit of mental weakness when they created one? Was it a lack of creative spark when Luke McCowan went off? There's a lot of things he's going to have to look at and ask 'why did that happen?'.

"I still believe Dundee will be fine, but they are on a sticky run. Taking off your best player should not result in a capitulation though. I think he will have a job picking them back up from this."

Tyrone Smith, BBC Sport Scotland

Dundee are finding out that life back in the Premiership can be a school of hard knocks, one where despite all the praise that might come your way, lessons need to be learned.

Tuesday night’s league defeat at Hearts is a case in point – leading 2-0 at the break, the Dark Blues found themselves empty handed at full-time, and returned back up the road to Tayside with nothing.

After the game, manager Tony Docherty said: "sometimes the penny has to drop, we need to be more resilient and manage games better when we are in front", adding: "we will learn from it because there is a really young talented bunch in there, but we need to learn quick".

There have been a number of hard luck stories for his side this term, plenty of games where they should have taken more than they did.

Make no mistake, the Dark Blues are still very well placed in the league, with games in hand on the teams above them, and if they can learn those lessons, then there is absolutely no reason at all why they can’t find themselves very much in the mix for European places.

We asked for your thoughts after Dundee threw away a two-goal lead at Tynecastle.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Albert: A great performance in the first hour, but yet again we've collapsed. Onwards we go though. With a new stadium promised it's a good time to be a Dee.

Anon: This is what being a Dundee supporter is all about. You roll with it.

Doug: Dundee's away strategy this season would appear to be: 1. Build up an impressive lead. 2. Chuck away said impressive lead.

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• Dundee have lost after leading at half time in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since 20th March 2022 against Rangers (5 games without defeat after leading at half time).

• Hearts have won after trailing by two or more goals in the Scottish Premiership for the first time since the start of the 2013-2014 season.

• Alan Forrest has assisted 4 goals this season (2 in this game), more than any other Hearts player in the Scottish Premiership.

• Amadou Bakayoko has assisted 3 goals this season (1 in this game), more than any other Dundee player in the Scottish Premiership.