Dundee

Image source, Getty Images

Bulgaria international Plamen Galabov "quickly" signed a two-year deal with Dundee as he wants to get out his "comfort zone" and "challenge" himself.

The defender joins Steven Pressley's side upon the expiry of his contract with Israeli side Maccabi Petah Tiva, where he made 37 appearances last season.

Galabov, 29, started his career in his native Bulgaria with FC Lovech, before moving to CSKA Sofia. His last three clubs have been in Israel, where he said he grew comfortable.

"After four years in Israel, I had found my comfort zone and when I found out about the interest from Dundee I wanted to come to Scotland," he told Dundee's website.

"I want to challenge myself and see how far I can go."

Galabov has five international appearances to his name since his debut in September 2020 against the Republic of Ireland in the UEFA Nations League.

"From my first impressions here it seems like everyone is like a family and it made me feel very warm," he added.

"I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone. Everything happened very fast, a week ago my agent told me of the interest from the club, I started to read more about the country and then I accepted very quickly this opportunity.

"I always try to be a team player, for me it's very important to try and help my teammates around me.

"As a defender, it is important to communicate a lot and to be calm as that helps the players around you."

Hibernian have agreed to sign free agent Josh Mulligan, the 22-year-old midfielder most recently at Dundee, with a medical imminent. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Dundee have missed out on Matthew Pennington, with the defender having joined Bradford City from Blackpool. (Courier - subscription required), external

Livingston are keen on a return for Hearts midfielder Macaulay Tait, 19, following his successful loan last season, but there is also interest from Dundee, Falkirk and St Johnstone. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

Image source, SNS

Simon Murray says it was "an easy decision" to accept and "a massive honour" to be announced as captain of Dundee.

The striker, who rejoined his boyhood club last season after a short loan in 2018, scored 22 goals in 48 games in the campaign gone by.

He had the captain's armband around his bicep throughout the season after injury interrupted previous Joe Shaughnessy's campaign and Trevor Carson was in and out of the team.

Murray admitted he will "give his all" to the role assured he is "not going to change" despite the new responsibility.

"It is a massive honour," he told club media.

"Being from here, growing up as a Dundee fan and now getting that responsibility from the new gaffer is great and something that I am really proud of.

"We've had a few days in training and I had a good chat with the gaffer, he pulled me in and we had a really good chat and he said that he wanted me to be the captain.

"It was an easy decision for me to accept. I'm going to give it my all and I look forward to the challenge.

"I'm not going to change. The gaffer was pretty clear that he wants me just to be me.

"Just to bring what I bring, enthusiasm, hard work, and leadership skills and for me just be my own person and just keep doing what I'm doing. He said that was the reason that he chose me to be captain."

Image source, SNS

Midfielder Mo Sylla has joined Livingston following his exit from fellow Scottish Premiership side Dundee on a three-year deal.

The French 31-year-old spent two seasons at the Dens Park club, making 67 appearances, after joining from English League Two side Hartlepool United.

Sylla becomes David Martindale's seventh signing as the Lions prepare for life in the top flight again.

Image source, BBC Sport

Dundee will pay £33,000 up front, possibly rising to £100,000 if add-ons are met, to Barrow for Emile Acquah after the 24-year-old striker signed a three-year deal at Dens Park. (Courier), external

Dundee are interested in 30-year-old Blackpool centre-back Matthew Pennington. (Daily Record), external

Read Tuesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, BBC Sport

Oscar Soto, a 20-year-old centre-back, and 19-year-old midfielders Jorge Landeros and Jose Urias are heading to Dundee on trial from Monterrey with a view to loan moves, while midfield duo Kyle Magennis and Tommy McDermott, who have left Kilmarnock and Burnley respectively, are also on trial. (Daily Record), external

Read Monday's gossip column in full.

Image source, SNS

We asked for your views on Dundee's Scottish Premiership fixtures and how they will be faring after 10 games.

Here's what some of you said:

Lammy: Impossible to say until we see the new squad assembled. Anything round about 15 points will be okay.

Alister: Sadly, stranded in 12th place. It doesn't really matter how the fixtures land, we are certs going down. All of our better experienced players gone, apart from Simon Murray and Trevor Carson, not near Premiership standard as they proved last season. In 64 years attending Dens, never witnessed such a shambles pre-season.

Alan: Dundee have tough opening fixtures. Our squad is much weaker than the one that narrowly avoided the drop last season and we appear to be shopping in the 'bargain basement' in an effort to strengthen. We have no chance of making the top six and will compete with Livingston to avoid automatic relegation.

Gary: The games will sort themselves out if we have a squad ready to take them on. At this point it's glaringly obvious there's no depth. Six weeks to flesh out a team, bringing in starters, not project players. Only way you plan for the future properly is by breeding success consistently.

Opta have crunched the numbers to rank the difficulty of each Scottish Premiership club's first four fixtures of the 2025-26 season.

According to their data model, St Mirren have the toughest start, followed by two clubs helmed by new managers, Dundee and Motherwell.

As for the easiest, Hibernian and capital rivals Hearts should got off to a flier, right?

Take a look below to see where your side places...

Image source, SNS

Aside from the first game of the season against Hibernian, all dates are subject to change as a result of broadcast and other requirements.

Image source, SNS

See Dundee's full fixture list here

Image source, SNS

The first Dundee derby of the 2025-26 Scottish Premiership season will take place on Saturday, 30 August.

Steven Pressley's side welcome Dundee United to Dens Park for a 15:00 BST kick-off.

New boss Pressley's first jaunt down to his former club in the league will be the new year showdown on Saturday, 3 January.

What else awaits the Dark Blues on the festive schedule? Their last game before Christmas is away to Motherwell on Saturday, 20 December then they see out 2025 with home matches against newly-promoted Falkirk and Kilmarnock.

The final derby of the pre-split season is pencilled in for Saturday, 14 March.

Pressley's men round off the pre-split campaign away to Killie on Saturday, 11 April.

Looking at the fixtures, where do you think Dundee will be after 10 games? Share your views here.

Image source, SNS

Steven Pressley's first Scottish Premiership game as Dundee boss will be at home to Hibernian.

The match will take place on Sunday, 3 August at 15:00 BST, with Dundee's first away fixture against Rangers on Saturday, 9 August at 17:45.

See Dundee's Scottish Premiership fixtures in full here.

Where do you think Dundee will be after 10 games and what do you make of how the fixtures have fallen? Share your views here.

Dundee have taken former Kilmarnock, Hibs and St Mirren player Kyle Magennis, 26, and fellow midfielder Tommy McDermott on trial. (The Courier, external - subscription required)

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

No sooner does the season finish and we start looking forward to key dates for the next campaign - and that will be a lot easier to do on Friday when the Scottish Premiership fixtures are released.

That's right, that special day in the calendar is almost here already. The day when you'll learn details of derby fixtures, Christmas opponents and the run-in to the split.

This page will bring you all the fixtures when they drop at 09:00 BST on Friday and we'll be giving you the chance to have your say on how things look.

The new campaign kicks off on the weekend of Saturday, 2 August and will conclude on Sunday, 17 May 2026.

After turning down a new deal at Dundee, 32-year-old centre-half Joe Shaughnessy is set for a move to Australia with Newcastle Jets. (The Courier, external - subscription required)

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, SNS

New Kilmarnock signing Scott Tiffoney says he has come to a "great place to play football" after joining the Rugby Park side on a two-year deal following his Dundee exit.

The 26-year-old attacking midfielder spent two seasons at Dens Park, scoring 10 goals in 76 appearances, and also has previous Premiership experience with Livingston.

"I'm buzzing to be here. As soon as I heard Kilmarnock were interested it was something I really wanted to be part of," said Tiffoney.

"I've played here before as an opponent and always thought it was a great place to play football.

"The manager's been really clear on what he wants and how I can fit in, so I'm just excited to get going and show the fans what I can bring."

Tiffoney is new Killie manager Stuart Kettlewell's fourth signing after defender Jamie Brandon and midfielders Greg Kiltie and Jack Thomson.

"Scott is a player that I've admired for a while, he's a consistent performer in this league, as soon as we were alerted to his availability it was one we wanted to get done," said Kettlewell.

"Again he's one that fits into the system we are going to be playing and he's going to add to the quality we already have here. I look forward to getting to work with Scott as we kick off pre-season this week."

Killie fans, what do you make of Tiffoney's signing and the club's summer transfer business so far? Share your views here.

Image source, SNS

Joe Shaughnessy, Mo Sylla, Scott Tiffoney, Antonio Portales and Scott Fraser are leaving Dundee under freedom of contract, the Dens Park club has confirmed.

A squad update states that negotiations continue with Josh Mulligan, 22, over a new deal.

A knee injury reduced captain Shaughnessy, 32, to just 10 Premiership starts last season, the first of which came in late February.

Fellow centre-back Portales, 29, was a regular, with the Mexican making 31 appearances in all competitions.

Midfielder Tiffoney, 26, scored seven goals in 43 outings, while Sylla, 31, featured in 42 games in his second campaign for the Dark Blues.

Fraser, 30, made just one league start all season after a summer switch from Charlton Athletic.

Lyall Cameron and Jordan McGhee had already agreed moves to Rangers and Motherwell respectively.

Image source, SNS

Rangers midfielder Lyall Cameron is determined to play his part in getting his new club "back to where it belongs" after joining from Dundee.

Despite signing a pre-contract agreement in February, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder has become the first fresh face to join under new head coach Russell Martin.

Cameron, who made his Dundee debut aged 16 against Raith Rovers in 2019, made 119 appearances for the Dens Park side, scoring 33 goals and providing 14 assists.

"It was a no-brainer [to move]," he said. "As soon as Rangers came up I was desperate to be here. Being from Scotland as well I know what the club stands for.

"It's definitely a big change, they play a lot more games, there are a lot bigger expectations, so it's going to be a massive change for me.

"I'll need to learn to deal with that, but it's something I'm really looking forward to. It's a new project, they're looking to build and improve and win leagues again.

"It's something great to be part of and I want to come here and make an impression and do as well as possible and get this club back to where it belongs."

Image source, SNS

You would be forgiven for doing a double take if you came across recent footage, external of Dundee's Finlay Robertson training with Real Madrid legend Sergio Ramos.

As part of the Dens Park side's strategic partnership with Monterrey, 22-year-old Robertson has joined up with the Mexican club to train this summer.

That has seen Robertson rub shoulders with multiple Champions League winner Ramos, who joined Rayados in February, as well as former Sevilla forward Lucas Ocampos and ex-Spain midfielder Sergio Canales.

Monterrey are involved in this summer's Club World Cup and open their group fixtures against Inter Milan on Wednesday.

Some social media speculation, external suggested Robertson could be registered to play in the tournament, but he does not appear to be in the squad.

So how did all of this come about?

While Monterrey representatives were checking up on Mexican youngsters Victor Lopez and Cesar Garza, who joined Dundee in January, they were impressed by academy graduate Robertson.

"One of the directors of Monterrey came over to watch to see how Chespi and Cesar were doing," midfielder Robertson said.

"They watched training throughout the week and signalled me out as one they would like to see more of."

And how is the 22-year-old finding it?

"It's a bit surreal at times being on the same training pitch with such big names," he added.

"But showing you can hold your own with them, it fills me with confidence."

New Dundee head coach Steven Pressley says the club must develop their own talent given the financial gulf to clubs throughout the English pyramid. (The Courier), external

Read the rest of Sunday's Scottish gossip.

Image source, SNS

"Why now and why Dundee?"

The first question Brian McLauchlin asked Steven Pressley as he was unveiled as the new head coach on Friday.

Here's the answer:

"It's a really exciting opportunity and one I'm exceptionally grateful for. I think it's a club that over recent years has shown the ambition and it's also got terrific history.

"So, I think there's big potential and I'm really excited by that.

"In terms of my own situation, I think this summer was always a juncture in my life.

"I'd been at Brentford for four years, I'd just finished my degree, my daughter was finishing school - I felt I needed a new challenge and when I left Brentford, I put my CV in here and seven, eight days later I was a manager. So it just feels right.

"For the last couple of years, I certainly had that management itch and I just couldn't get rid of it.

"The attraction here is the club, but also Gordon [Strachan] being here, who I've known a long time and I think we're aligned.

"It's a really good opportunity for me and one that I'm relishing."

Image source, SNS

Steven Pressley believes he developed "a softer side" in his role as Brentford's head of individual player development and thinks it will help him as the new Dundee head coach.

The former Scotland international succeeds Tony Docherty in the Dens Park dugout and was unveiled to the media for the first time since returning to Scotland earlier today.

The 51-year-old spent 12 years in England and paid particular focus to his stint with the Bees, adding it has given him a refined perspective.

"It was a great role in terms of education and understanding, and allowed me to form really strong relationships with personnel and get to know the players," he said.

"Sometimes when we go through the transition from being a player to manager, we forget the difficulties of being a player.

"Being a football player is a hard journey. There's so much vulnerability about it, there's so much disappointment, so much pressure around the job.

"Working with the players very closely reminds me of just how difficult that journey can be.

"It's really important that we have that type of culture within this club where you can be vulnerable, we are going to support each other and help each other, we are going to make you better.

"I want to be a manager where my players feel they can come to me and speak on issues that they have and they're not scared to do so. The role has allowed me to develop in that way.

"It's allowed me to develop my softer side in many ways and hopefully that will benefit me."

Image source, SNS

The SPFL confirmed attendances have risen for a third consecutive season and thanked fans for their "incredible support".

Crowds across all leagues, cups and play-off matches totalled more than 5.3 million, a rise of nearly 185,000 from the 2023-24 season.

"We will be having further meetings with key stakeholders over the summer to review the most recent season and look ahead to 2025-26," the SPFL statement ends.

"We remain committed to ensuring a safe and enjoyable matchday experience for players and supporters - they are the lifeblood of our game and deserve nothing less."