Gary Irvine has spoken of his pride at being the Dundee captain but insists he will not be taking his place in the team for granted any time soon.
The 29-year-old defender is a Dark Blues stalwart, having been at the club since 2010, but at the start of this season he could not break into Paul Hartley’s new-look side, with Paul McGinn and Willie Dyer filling the full-back berths.
However, the latter suffered a knee injury in the first half of the game at Dens against Partick Thistle on August 16 and was replaced by Irvine who hasn’t looked back.
With club captain Kevin Thomson also injured at the time, he was awarded the skipper’s armband for the following game against St Mirren.
He has been an assured performer ever since on the “wrong side” for him and even although Dyer has now battled back to fitness, Irvine is determined to retain the left-back jersey.
He said: “I’m enjoying my football. I enjoy playing anywhere, to be honest.
“I’m leading the team out too which is a massive thing. That makes me proud.
“I’m on the other side of the defence at left-back and am experienced enough to just go there and do a job. I’m happy with my own form. You just do the same things but at the other side of the pitch.
“That’s a massive part of it as well when you see the strength of our squad. And Willie is back fit again. It keeps you on your toes to see the players we’ve got at this club.
“Some are sitting behind you and are more than comfortable of doing a job.”
Dundee are in buoyant mood at the moment on the back of three straight league victories, a record they want to extend at Dens this afternoon against Tayside rivals St Johnstone.
Irvine said: “We want to keep this run going. The last few games have been good. We want to keep building the confidence and keep doing the right things.
“We went down to Kilmarnock last weekend which is a hard place to go and did really well. We want to take those positives into this match.”
One of the key reasons behind the Dark Blues’ recent success has been the flourishing partnership between strikers Greg Stewart and David Clarkson.
The latter is someone Irvine knows well and he is not surprised that he is back scoring for fun.
The former Scotland frontman was written off in some quarters after failing to win contracts during the summer with clubs such as Motherwell and today’s opponents St Johnstone but he has now scored five goals in the last five games for the Dark Blues.
Irvine said; “I grew up with Clarky. I’ve played against him and been involved in Scotland set-ups with him.
“We’re the same age and came all the way through the Scottish unders together.
“He’s a right poacher. He’s just a good goal-scorer. Even when he was younger, he had that knack, and we’re seeing it again now.
“Also, he has a great work-rate for the team. He’s a pest for most defenders and doesn’t give them a minute’s peace.
“I’ve always known what he was capable of. So it doesn’t bother me if some people had written him off.
“OK, he was maybe on trial at different clubs without getting anything but the bottom line is he’s been brilliant since he came here.
“That’s all you can judge him on. We’re in the same car school, as we both live in Hamilton at the moment. He doesn’t speak too much about his goals but any striker buzzes off his goals and you can see he’s high in confidence right now.”
Irvine was with St Johnstone before moving to Dens and he knows this is a crunch encounter for Saints.
However, he insists that the Dundee players are also fully aware of the importance of the match.
Irvine said: “Dundee v St Johnstone is a big game. They like to class it as a bit of a derby too.
“It was a tough game down at McDiarmid Park earlier in the season when we won 1-0.
“When I was at St Johnstone, you always looked forward to coming up to Dens. It generates a big crowd. The boys understand all that.
“They’re a good side. Just look at the success they’ve had last season when they won the Scottish Cup.
“It’s mainly the same group of players, although Stevie May has moved on.
“But the main core of that team is still there. They’re comfortable together because they’ve been there for a while.
“I’m sure most of the boys know the importance of this game.”
Kyle Letheren, Peter MacDonald, Luka Tankulic, Simon Ferry and Craig Wighton will all miss the game through injury.