Dundee boss John Brown maintains he would have no reservations handing teenage striking sensation Craig Wighton a regular starting jersey after his cameo at the weekend.
The highly-rated 16-year-old made his competitive debut for the Dark Blues as an 80th minute substitute in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Cowdenbeath, and looks set to establish himself as an important first team player over the coming weeks and months.
And with a first senior appearance now under his belt, Brown has challenged the Scotland U17 striker to seize his chance with both hands.
“Craig came on and looked comfortable when he came on,” he told Courier Sport.
“He’s a boy that will score goals for us and will go on to bigger things, but getting that 10 minutes and the opportunity to get on is good for him.”
“He had the three games with Scotland, he was tired from his long trip too, so for him to get involved was great. But you can sense from the fans that they are excited about it too.
“We managed to bring him on, we thought the game was dead at that time and it gave him a chance, but I wouldn’t have any fears of starting the boy.
“What he shows us at training is that he’s not out of place with the first team boys. The physical presence might not be there yet but the football intelligence he’s got in abundance.
“He’s very composed and it’s maybe something we’ve lacked in our finishing.
“On Saturday we still had three or four efforts where we never hit the target, never mind work the goalkeeper, so he’s a player who will come into the equation in the weeks ahead.”
Wighton, who netted a hat-trick for his country against Slovenia a fortnight ago, is proof that hard work, talent and enthusiasm can get you into the first team, and Brown hopes that the rest of the squad have taken notice.
Brown said: “Other players have been given opportunities and they’ve not taken it, so now it’s Craig’s turn. Wighton has waited his chance. I would have introduced him earlier but other more experienced players got that opportunity.
“Now they’ve got to go and show me what I’ve not seen up until now.”
Brown was delighted to see his side record their first away league victory of the season at the weekend and hopes his players can build on that heading into this weekend’s game at Dumbarton.
“It was a good result going to Cowdenbeath. It’s an awkward place to get a result because it’s a tight pitch, but the team played well and created chances.
“It’s the first victory away from home in the league, so that’s a plus for us, and everybody is champing at the bit in training for the next game.”