Dundee

Dundee travel to Tynecastle on Saturday looking for a win that would keep their hopes of a European spot alive.

Who would you like to see start for Tony Docherty's side? Pick your Dundee XI here.

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Philippe Clement, Tony Docherty, Derek McInnes and John McGlynn have been named on the shortlist for the Scottish Footballer Writers' Association manager of the year award.

It was Falkirk's McGlynn who walked away with the PFA prize last week after leading the Bairns to an invincible League 1-winning campaign, beating Kilmarnock's McInnes and Docherty of Dundee.

Rangers boss Clement is a new nominee, having taken over at Ibrox in October following the departure of Michael Beale.

The Belgian has hauled his side back into the title race, despite some stumbling in recent weeks, and also lifted the League Cup and steered Rangers to the Scottish Cup final.

Meanwhile, McInnes has taken Kilmarnock from the brink of relegation last term to guaranteed European football, with the Rugby Park side frontrunners to finish fourth in the Premiership.

His former assistant Docherty has enjoyed an impressive debut season in the Dens Park hotseat, leading Dundee to the top six in their first campaign back in the top flight.

But their biggest challenge to claim the award may come from McGlynn, who has earned plenty of plaudits for finally ending Falkirk's miserable stay in the third tier and emphatically earning promotion to the Championship.

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty has vowed no one at the club has given up on their hopes of securing European football.

Last weekend's 3-1 home defeat to St Mirren leaves the Dark Blues five points adrift of the Paisley men, who occupy the coveted fifth spot with three matches remaining.

But Docherty, whose side travel to Hearts on Saturday, insists they will continue to give it their all.

"There are nine points to play for. Yes, we have put ourselves in a position with the European situation that it is going to be difficult, but I can guarantee you nobody at this club has given that up," he said.

"All we can do is face the game in front of us, which is Hearts at Tynecastle, and if we pick up three points there the picture might change.

"It is important you realise the achievements, the objectives that were set that we have achieved already this season.

"I don’t think anybody at the start of the season, with having to assemble staff and players, would have given us any credit in terms of that we would make top six, but we did that.

"So it is now games that we need to try and make a good account of ourselves. As much as last week was disappointing, we have got an opportunity to overcome that and this group, what they have shown all season, is real resilience to redress any poor results or poor performances."

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Dundee manager Tony Docherty has been speaking to the media before Saturday's trip to play Hearts.

Here are the key points from the press conference:

• Last weekend’s defeat to St Mirren was "a sore one" but Docherty highlighted the "resilience" his side have shown this season to bounce back from disappointing results.

• On their now slender chances of finishing fifth and securing European football: "Nobody at this club has given up on that."

• He is expecting a difficult game at Hearts but has "a highly motivated team going down to Tynecastle".

• Joe Shaughnessy had knee surgery on Monday and it was a "success".

• Docherty wouldn’t be drawn on any transfer speculation, but says they have had two good transfer windows since he came to the club and he is aiming for that to continue this summer.

• Having done so well to finish in the top six this season, Docherty says "I think when you set that kind of bar you want to maintain that."

• There are no fresh injuries.

A home defeat to St Mirren last time out was a major body blow to Dundee’s hopes of securing the one remaining European spot.

Fifth-place Saints are now very much in the box seat, with a five-point advantage over the Dark Blues with just three rounds of games to go.

As the Premiership new boys Dundee have already upset the odds in how well they have done this term. They are now going to have to do that again, and more, if they are to be digging out the passports.

Tony Docherty’s side need to chalk up wins and hope for some big favours from elsewhere.

It looks like the tallest of orders – their next two games are away to Hearts and Rangers – so fulfilling their side of the bargain appears a big ask.

However, as long as it remains arithmetically possible, Docherty will ensure his team give everything to that cause.

Following Saturday’s defeat, he admitted "we didn't turn up" in a performance that has been uncharacteristic of his side this season.

Nevertheless, he will know that if they can get back to their best then they will give themselves a chance of remaining in the Euro mix.

The very fact it remains a possibility is testament to the progress of Docherty's team.

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Connor Barron, Lyall Cameron, Lennon Miller and David Watson have been named on the shortlist for the Scottish Football Writers Association's young player of the year award.

Kilmarnock teenager Watson claimed the PFA prize last week and will be looking to make it a double, but the teenager faces competition from fellow midfielders Cameron (Dundee), Miller (Motherwell) and Barron (Aberdeen).

Cameron and Miller, along with Rangers' Northern Irish winger Ross McCausland, were also in contention for the PFA award, but Aberdeen and Scotland Under-21 midfielder Barron replaces the Ibrox forward on the SFWA shortlist.

Since 2019, the SFWA prize has been restricted only to players who are eligible to play for Scotland's U21s.

In what was the biggest game of Dundee's season on Saturday, we came up short. St Mirren wanted this game more and bullied and pressured us all over the park.

Despite mathematically still being in the hunt for the last European spot, us Dundee fans will more likely be enjoying two weeks at a pool rather than cheering on our team on foreign soil.

The aim of the game was to survive this season. Early on, that changed as we asserted ourselves mid-table - and as that carried on with securing a top-six spot, we started to dream of European football.

The bar has regularly been set at avoiding relegation, but that's changed now for me.

Going forward, I want top-six football. I want us challenging for Europe. I don't want to accept mediocre targets any more.

The battle with St Mirren is not over and done with just yet, so we will still hold out the faint hope we can leapfrog them.

If we can overturn the points deficit, we should be using this season as a springboard for what will hopefully be an exciting future for this club.

Daniel Smith can be found on the Up Wi' The Bonnets Podcast., external

Dundee and Kilmarnock have targeted 25-year-old striker Bruce Anderson, who is poised to leave Livingston this summer at the end of his contract. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip

Captain Luke McCowan admits Dundee were "rubbish" in their 3-1 home loss to St Mirren on Saturday. (Courier - subscription), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip

We asked for your thoughts after Dundee were beaten 3-1 by St Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

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

Brian: We were absolutely abysmal. Bullied off the park, outplayed and outfought. The worst game we have played all season. A top-six finish is great but this was a chance to go one higher and we blew it. Tony Docherty has to improve his management of games, at times it has cost us points.

Gary: Dundee were dire today. From kick-off St Mirren were right at it, we didn’t compete at all and there were no answers from the bench. All the usual flicks and breaks of the ball were absent for us too, it just didn’t click. To be disappointed (at what looks like) a sixth-place finish is something Dees would have gladly taken at the start so I’m not too sad!

Doug: Only one team appeared to want the win badly enough, and unfortunately it wasn’t Dundee. St Mirren out-thought and out-played Dundee for most of the game. Almost every time any of Dundee's flair players got on the ball they were immediately surrounded by three opposition players and promptly lost possession. All in all, it was a shocker.

Dundee boss Tony Docherty reacts to his side's "hugely disappointing" defeat to St Mirren.

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Dundee boss Tony Docherty told BBC Scotland: "Hugely disappointing. I've got to give credit to St Mirren, they were excellent from minute one and they realised the importance of today.

"I can't be too critical of my players, because they've got us to this position, but there are regrets there because we didn't turn up today in what was a hugely important game. I can't level that at my players for most of this season, but today we didn't turn up.

"Today was an anomaly for me, because we had an edge all week. But St Mirren started in the right manner, and we never recovered from that. We've not had many of those days, but we were second best today.

"I've challenged them there - how do we react to that? St Mirren are celebrating already. There's five points in it with nine to play for. That's the challenge for the group."

What did you think of that, Dundee fans? After a really good season, are Tony Docherty's side starting to tire?

Tell us your thoughts here.

Dundee have rightly received their fair share of plaudits for finishing in the top half, but this will be a performance that Tony Docherty will want to forget.

Luke McCowan and Lyall Cameron put in their usual shift, but couldn't trouble a solid St Mirren defence too much.

They really struggled at the back. With Joe Shaughnessy - their captain and defensive anchor - they looked lost, and it is worrying that he's out for the remainder of the campaign.

Their very narrow chances of Europe appear even slimmer, despite Docherty's determination to qualify for the first time in 20 years.

Dundee: McCracken, Portales, Lamie, Donnelly, McGhee, Sylla, Cameron, McCowan, Dodgson, Tiffoney, Bakayoko.

Substitutes: Sharp, Astley, Main, Mulligan, Robinson, Robertson, Boateng, Mellon, Costelloe.

St Mirren: Hemming, Bolton, Gogic, Fraser, Strain, O'Hara, Boyd-Munce, Tanser, Olusanya, Mandron, McMenamin.

Substitutes: Urminsky, Taylor, Dunne, Brown, Flynn, Baccus, Kiltie, Jamieson, Scott.

Dundee have Lyall Cameron available after he missed the defeat by Celtic through injury, but Joe Shaughnessy (knee) and Owen Beck (groin) are out for the season.

St Mirren forward Jonah Ayunga had a (knee) operation on Thursday and midfielder Kwon Hyeok-kyu is also out for the season with a hamstring injury.

Elvis Bwomono (knee) and Greg Kiltie (ankle) are doubts and midfielder Evan Mooney has been drafted in from the youth team.

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Goalkeeper Jon McCracken says he "would be silly" to rule out the possibility of staying at Dundee beyond this season.

McCracken, who is on loan from Norwich City, is a free agent in the summer and admits he would be open to a return to Dens Park.

"There have been some talks so hopefully that can get resolved quite soon on where my future is, whether it is up in Scotland or down in England, so I am quite open to what is out there," said the 23-year-old.

"I think the club is going places, you would be silly to rule that out. It is definitely a club that is on the up, so it would be exciting to be a part of that.”

McCracken began the season at Dens Park before being recalled by his parent club. He then returned to Dundee in February.

"You could see it was a special group and it was going to be a really positive year for Dundee, I was in no doubts about that," he added.

"So I am very grateful for the gaffer bringing me back in for that and experiencing it because it is a great dressing room to come into.

"He only had a couple of players at the start of the season signed, so it is pretty much his own team and he has been able to put his own stamp on it."

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Saturday's Scottish Premiership clash between Dundee and St Mirren shows the value of the split, according to former Motherwell defender Stephen Craigan.

There are just two points separating the sides as they battle it out for fifth place, with the meeting at Dens Park vital in the race for European football next season.

Dundee lost 2-1 to Celtic last weekend, while St Mirren were beaten 2-1 by Rangers. However, Craigan believes both teams will be buoyed by their displays against the Old Firm.

"That's what makes it more intriguing this weekend, they're both coming off the back of good performances, albeit disappointed with what they got from it," Craigan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"Dundee have been the surprise package; St Mirren have been in the top six all season. Dundee win, and suddenly they're in the driving seat; St Mirren win, you would think they're almost into Europe.

"This is what I like about the top six and the bottom six, some people argue against it, but you get teams in the same area of the league going for something, whether that's Europe or relegation, so I think just adds to the spectacle."

Craigan anticipates a tight encounter given the importance of the fixture.

"It's all set up nicely," he said. "They're both evenly matched, I really couldn't call a winner at this stage.

"I think St Mirren would take a point, if they can leave Dens Park with a point, knowing they've got a couple of home games coming up, I think they would take that."

Dundee manager Tony Docherty says transfer talk has been put on the back burner until the end of the season. (The Courier), external

Rangers have demanded a five-figure compensation sum from Dundee over the two postponements at rain-hit Dens Park, the sum being the cost of their two pre-match stays in St Andrews - as well as their travel expenses. (Scottish Sun), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

We asked you who you think should be named Dundee's player of the year in a brilliant campaign.

Here are your picks:

Ben: Luke McCowan has been an absolute revelation this season since Tony Doc's come in and moved him into midfield. Always available, always gives 100% and gives us a touch of class in the middle of the park alongside Lyall Cameron. He's been massively important for us this season popping up with goals and assists, praying we can extend his contract!

Roberto: 1. McCowan. 2. Owen Beck. 3. Joe Shaughnessy. 4. Antonio Portales. 5. Trevor Carson.

Kevin: It has to be Lyall Cameron, he has come on leaps and bounds this season after a great breakthrough season last year and looks every inch a Premiership player.

Euan: Our player of the season is a hard one because all of our players have been playing well, but in terms of stats it has to be either Amadou Bakayoko or McCowan.

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• Dundee’s 4-0 win over St Mirren in their last home league game against the Buddies in November remains their biggest win in the Scottish Premiership since December 2018 against Hamilton (also 4-0).

• St Mirren have won four of their last five league games against Dundee (L1), keeping three clean sheets in the process.

• Dundee have failed to win each of their last four league matches (D2 L2) and could go five matches without a win for the second time this season, after doing so between September and October (D4 L1).

• St Mirren have lost their last three league matches, conceding 2+ goals in all three defeats. The Buddies haven’t lost four on the trot in the top flight since April 2022.

• Dundee’s Luke McCowan has won possession for his side 310 times this season, at least 66 more times than any other player in the competition. In fact, McCowan won possession 15 times against Rangers last month, which is the joint-most by any player in a single Scottish Premiership match this season.