Dundee

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Fans have seen this Dundee movie before. It's not that they didn't play well in spells, they just couldn't convert the chances they created.

This was indeed eerily similar to the last time they hosted the Dons back at the end of September, also a 2-1 defeat. They had an early flurry of chances but were foiled by Ross Doohan in the away goal. They then found themselves two goals down and seemingly out of it.

There's plenty of spirit in this Dundee side though, as witnessed by the performances against Rangers and Celtic recently. Those displays have been too few and far between, however, in a season in which they have struggled to find any real consistency. Hence their position in the bottom six.

Their upcoming games against Ross County, Motherwell and St Johnstone may well determine whether they're able to mount a challenge yet for the top half of the table.

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Dundee forward Seb Palmer-Houlden returns while Billy Koumetio (ankle) and Scott Fraser (groin) remain out.

Aberdeen goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov is back in the squad after injury.

Jamie McGrath, Gavin Molloy (both shoulder), Ester Sokler (hamstring), Dante Polvara (leg), Vicente Besuijen (knee) and Jack Milne (ankle) remain out.

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Dundee's third-choice goalkeeper Harry Sharp has extended his contract until summer 2027.

Sharp, 23, is a product of the youth academy at Dens Park and made his debut in 2019, going on to make 24 appearances for the first team.

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Scotland Under-17s goalkeeper Alastair Graham has moved from Dundee to English Premier League side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee.

Graham had been for trial spells at Newcastle, Southampton, and Arsenal before opting for Forest.

The 16-year-old almost moved to the Champions League chasers last summer as part of a swap deal with Aaron Donnelly, who ended up joining the Dark Blues last month.

Graham played for Dundee's Under-18s and reserves but never made a first-team appearance having come through SFA performance school St John's Academy.

He is the second Dundee youngster to leave for the English top flight this season after Seb Lochhead moved to Wolves last summer.

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Aaron Donnelly says Dundee are fired up for "revenge" against Hearts in the Scottish Cup quarter-final after being thrashed 6-0 by Neil Critchley's side a fortnight ago.

Tony Docherty's men will visit Tynecastle in the last eight next month and defender Donnelly said: "We know it's a tough draw.

"It's not an easy place to go to but I think it's time to get revenge on Hearts, definitely.

"It was obviously a very tough week. We lost to Hearts and lost to Celtic. But the group we have, we know we always want to bounce back.

"We wanted to prove and get ourselves into the quarter-final of the cup. We're really looking forward to playing Hearts."

Having eased past Airdrie in the cup, Dundee return to Premiership action at home to Aberdeen on Saturday looking to respond from successive 6-0 league losses to Hearts and Celtic that have dropped them to 10th in the table.

"I think those two games were an anomaly," Donnelly added. "It never happened last season but it's happened this season and we're looking to put it right on Saturday.

"The league's very tight. If you go on a run of consistent form, you win two or three on the bounce, you can start looking up.

"Last season we had a very good run before the split and we finished in the top six, and that'll be our aim for this season as well."

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• Dundee have conceded more goals (53) and faced a higher expected goals against total (46.1) than any other side in the Premiership this season. Indeed, it's the most goals any side have conceded in their first 25 matches of a top-flight campaign since Dunfermline in 2011-12 (54).

• Dundee have won just two of their past 30 league meetings with Aberdeen (D8 L20), although both of those did come at home, winning 2-1 in October 2021 and 1-0 in March 2024.

• Aberdeen have won both of their league meetings with Dundee in 2024-25, as many as their previous seven matches against them beforehand (W2 D3 L2).

• Both of Dundee's past two Scottish Premiership games have been 6-0 losses (v Hearts and Celtic), making them the first side to suffer two 6+ goal margins of defeat in a single season in the competition since Motherwell in 2015-16.

• Aberdeen have lost eight of their past nine league games (D1), as many as their previous 37 beforehand (W17 D12 L8).

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Tony Docherty wants Aberdeen to be forced to play "the crowd in the stands" as well as his Dundee team at Dens Park on Saturday.

The Dark Blues welcome Jimmy Thelin's out-of-form Dons in the Premiership after both teams booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup last weekend.

Dundee were "hell-bent on getting back on track" against Airdrieonians after suffering back-to-back 6-0 defeats, says Docherty, as he highlighted the importance of the home support against an Aberdeen team aiming for a first league win in 15 games.

"I'm really pleased we're at home because I think again you saw on Saturday the impact the crowd have on the players here," the Dundee boss said.

"I thought we came out of the traps and won the game comfortably in the first half - arguably within 20 minutes - because of the way we attacked the game.

"I could see the intent in the players, the mentality, and for me, that was the most pleasing thing.

"They were hell-bent on getting back on course, and they did that."

The manager stressed he is searching for the same level of performance that dismantled the Diamonds 4-0.

"I don't want just the Aberdeen team to play the team on the pitch, I want them to play the crowd in the stands as well," he added.

"The crowd have got a big part to play, as they they always have, and I hope they'll play that part on Saturday as well."

Brian McLauchlin
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Tony Docherty spoke to the media before Dundee's Scottish Premiership match at home to Aberdeen on Saturday.

Here are the key points:

• Reacting to Dundee drawing Hearts away in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup, Docherty said it could have been better, could haave been worse, but, it's on "the backburner for now".

• The manager was pleased about "getting back on track" with the 4-0 cup win over Airdrie after "a wee bump in the road" of successive 6-0 defeats by Hearts and Celtic.

• He added there is "a real spring" about the players and "a togetherness" in training.

• On Saturday's opponents Aberdeen, Docherty admitted his "surprise" at their 14-game winless league run, saying "no one could have predicted it".

• Dundee are in a position where they "are the masters of their own destiny" and so Docherty is aiming for "a run of consistency" to make a "decent" season into a "really good"one.

• The manager confirmed Seb Palmer-Houlden is available after suffering an injury last week.

Ethan Hampton
Fan writer

As predicted, Dundee bounced back against Airdrieonians. A convincing victory with a clean sheet has left everyone satisfied off the back of horrendous defeats to Hearts and Celtic.

I am very happy we have progressed to the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup and more so that we avoided Celtic given that five of our past six quarter-finals – stretching back nine years – have come against one of the Old Firm.

However, Hearts away was the second-worst scenario. They seem to have our number this season, putting eight goals past us in the last two meetings while we have only managed to register three shots on target in 180 minutes against the Jambos.

We have been waiting a long time for some luck in the cup, but I'm struggling to find any magic after that draw.

Six changes were made to the team last weekend and several players shone. The likes of Scott Tiffoney, Jordan McGhee and Ziyad Larkeche, who have all been out of the team lately (albeit some absences were down to injury), gave Tony Docherty some healthy headaches for Saturday's game at home to Aberdeen.

That could very well be a season-defining game. Aberdeen haven't won in 13 league matches but Dundee love to knock out-of-form teams back into winning ways.

We have been very hot and cold this season - if we can't turn the heat on now then I sense we will be frozen into the bottom six. Dundee are a much better team than the league table would suggest, but they have to start proving it now.

And with the Lyall Cameron transfer saga concluded, I'd like to think with that weight off his shoulders, new bosses to impress alongside his desire to leave on a high, we will see a determined and confident player perform at his best until he leaves for Rangers in the summer.

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty has revealed midfielder Scott Fraser is still weeks away from a return from a groin injury (Courier), external.

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Hearts will host Dundee in the Scottish Cup quarter-finals.

Neil Critchley's beat St Mirren 4-2 on penalties in the fifth round to earn themselves a place in the quarters.

Meanwhile, Tony Docherty's men beat Airdrieonians 4-0 in the fifth round to book their place in the quarters.

The ties will be played on the weekend of Saturday 8 March.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Lyall Cameron wants to end his time at Dundee on a high after they booked their spot in the Scottish Cup quarter-final.

Cameron was back in Dundee's starting line-up on Saturday after missing out against Celtic midweek.

The midfielder signed a pre-contract with Rangers and will head to Ibrox in the summer when his contract at Dens Park expires.

The 22-year-old admits news of his summer move to Rangers was "quite hard" to deal with adding there was "some tension and critics" but he seems to have moved on from that and now just wants to do his best for Dundee.

"I just need to keep focusing on playing for Dundee," he said.

"I want to do as well as I can between now and summer, get as far as we can in the cup and hopefully finish as high as we can in the league.

"So my full focus is here and I just want to emphasise that and I hope my first half performance showed that.

"It doesn't benefit anybody if I don't perform to my best level and that's the type of person I am as well. I'll give 100% in every game so I'm just going to keep doing that from now until the end of the season."

Dundee fans, we asked for your views after Saturday's Scottish Cup victory over Airdrieonians.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Mark: Professional performance and a very much needed clean sheet. Hope for a home tie next round.

Rod: Great to be in the quarter-finals. We are a match for most teams at home so hoping for a home draw in the next round. Two bad results will not stop us getting into the latter stages of the cup or top six. After being a yo-yo club in recent years Tony Docherty has stabilised us and there is no real fear of relegation. I'm hoping Doc stays for a long time.

Roberto: A recovery of sorts. 4-0 is 4-0 but we need to beat a Premiership team to be able to claim to be back on the rails. It was a much better second half from Airdrie.

Carl: Walk in the park today for the team, especially first half. The second half was a stroll against a poor Airdrie side so it's hard to judge how we would do against Premiership teams with the six changes made to the starting line-up. But, can we please have a back four because five is certainly not working.

Gary: A nice change to benefit from errors rather than making them but the Dee pressed Airdrie into those mistakes & were good enough to capitalise. Great to see the returnees, a debut for Victor Lopez and a clean sheet. Now let's hope for a good draw and to take the confidence forward into the league.

Jimmy: Tony you got the selection spot on. Ok it was only Airdrie, and I don't mean any disrespect to them, but how can we not do this any other game? The same type of performance is needed for the next game.

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Lyall Cameron. The little number 10 was under the microscope after his pre-contract move to Rangers was announced through the week, but he stood tall.

His two goals were about as easy as they get, but he had to be in the right place and was part of the Dundee press that Airdrie could not handle at all.

Dundee thrashed Championship bottom-dwellers Airdrieonians to progress to the Scottish Cup quarter-finals and recover from consecutive 6-0 league defeats.

What did you make of the game, Dundee fans? Who stood out in the impressive win?

Let us know your thoughts here., external

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty: "I'm delighted. Our objective was to get through and to keep a clean sheet as well. We got the job done in the first half, went 2-0 up after 20 minutes.

"I was looking for a reaction from my team. We made six changes to make sure there was energy and intensity in the side, but not diminishing any quality - and you saw that.

"I was really pleased with a lot of today. Second half was a little flat but the objective was to keep a clean sheet and we got a few players - Samuels, Lopez, and particularly big Joe [Shaughnessy] - on the pitch. A good day's work.

"You don't become a bad team overnight. There were reasons that we lost that game last Saturday, and I apologised to the fans. I took that responsibility in making sure today that the fans could sit back and see their team in the last eight of the Scottish Cup."

"I know Lyall [Cameron] really well and you could see the ovation he got from the fans when he came off, which tells you everything. I took him off to protect his Achilles. He'll be a really important player for us in the run in and he's 100% committed to Dundee until the end of the season.

"A good Cup run was one of our main objectives at the start of the season. If the draw is kind to us, maybe we can go a wee bit further."

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty says there is a "real buzz around the place" as his side look to move on from back-to-back 6-0 Premiership defeats by securing a Scottish Cup quarter-final place.

Hearts and Celtic both thrashed Dundee in the space of four days, leaving them perched precariously above the relegation play-off spot by a single point.

Before Saturday's cup visit of Championship bottom club Airdrie, Docherty said: "It's been challenging. But I'm very much grateful for the level of support I've got throughout the club, from the top right through to the players in the changing room and there's real support there.

"I've got real support in doing that, and I've got real confidence in the group and in myself that we will manage to navigate ourselves through any turbulent periods that we have, and make sure we come out the other side of it.

"It was important we brought the players in on Thursday afternoon after they rested up as much as they could, and we analysed things, like we always do.

"They are a real honest, conscientious group. So it was important that we did that, and then we move on and make sure that our full focus is towards the Scottish Cup game. It deserves that.

"We need to make sure that the amount of effort we put in in the last round to win a derby [against Dundee United] we need to pick up on that opportunity.

"So the mood in the camp is really good. The boys are really positive and there's a real buzz about the place."

Club captain Joe Shaughnessy feels he can begin to "contribute" to the team again after a lengthy injury lay-off.

The 32-year-old hasn't played since last April after suffering a cruciate knee ligament but made the bench against Celtic during the week.

"Brilliant, it's nice to be back involved," he told club media.

"It's been a long road but I finally feel like I can contribute a little more now."

Colin Moffat
BBC Sport Scotland

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Airdrieonians may be stranded at the foot of the table but they have won both league matches since banging five past Dumbarton in the fourth round of the cup, which is their best sequence of results this term.

The Diamonds shipped six goals at Dens Park in the League Cup in August and on their last Scottish Cup visit in 2022, but Dundee have been hit for six themselves in their past two outings against Heart of Midlothian and Celtic.

This is something of a free-hit for Airdrie, who were hammered by a horrendous injury list in the first half of the season, while Tony Docherty will be looking for a response from his players after a couple of shaky defensive displays.

Read all the Scottish Cup picks

We asked for your views after Dundee shipped six goals for the second game in a row to lose at Celtic Park.

Here are some of your comments:

Jimmy: Another abysmal performance, now we are in a relegation situation. Simon Murray needs help up front, why does Scott Tiffoney not get a start? At least he can get crosses in. Hopefully Airdrie don't score six.

Steven: I know it's an easy target but Tony Docherty has had a lot more time than most and it's just not working. Make no mistake, now we're in a relegation battle. Maybe he has little control over the players being brought in. We're now using kids from teams that are using us as a training facility. That's why we're inconsistent, not good enough for this league.

Gary: Of course have faith in your players to recover from a damaging result like Hearts, but at some point you have a duty to protect them as professionals, their reputation and confidence. The way it went, once the second goal goes in (the game's gone) it's time to limit the damage by changing shape and personnel, but again baffling substitutions crippled us.

Ray: Pathetic, fed up hearing the manager's excuses. The press have been gentle on us for some reason because they should be ripping us apart. We are on the slide and once you start it is hard to stop. No plan B and stop the excuses of injured players. We just aren't good enough.

John: We are not being dragged into a relegation battle, we are already there. It is time for a change at the top. A lot of the results are just not acceptable. At this current rate we will be down by the break. Top six is a pipe dream on this form.

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• Celtic's Daizen Maeda has contributed to goals in his past four games in the Premiership (four goals, four assists). The Japan forward's current three-game scoring streak streak is his longest in the competition.

• Dundee have failed to win in their past four games in the Premiership, their last longer winless streak was from 24 August 2024 to 5 October 2024, a run of five games.

• Celtic have kept a clean sheet in 18 of their 25 games, more than any other in the Premiership this season.

• Celtic have scored 18 goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half, more than any other team in the Premiership this season.

• Dundee have conceded 13 goals to opposition substitutes in the Premiership this season, more than any other team.