Dundee boss Barry Smith insists he will not be keeping a close eye on the division one table until the first quarter of the season has come and gone.
That’s because he believes the league is so tight this season, it will not be until then that a true pattern of who is looking like promotion contenders will become clear.
Dundee showed just how quickly things can change when their hard-fought win against Raith Rovers at Stark’s Park on Saturday (link) saw them jump from second bottom of the table to fourth top.
While the season is still in its early stages, Smith cannot envisage any team becoming runaway leaders of the division.
Smith said: “It’s just too early to start looking at things. It might even take until after the first quarter for things to start to settle down.
“Morton are on a good run just now which has taken them to the top of the table, and you have to be careful not to allow one team to get too far in front. But it’s so tight that you wonder if any one team will run away with it.
“We have to take Saturday’s win at Raith into our next game at Falkirk, and especially how well we defended when we went down to 10 men. Even before that, though, we were defending well.
“It’s important to have a good base to give yourself something to build on because a lot of what we achieved last season was down to that.”
Stephen O’Donnell who was sent off against Raith will be suspended for Saturday’s game against the Bairns but Smith is hopeful that Matt Lockwood, who had to be replaced at half-time at Stark’s Park, will have recovered in time from a calf knock.
Captain Rhys Weston missed out with a tight hamstring but Neil McGregor was a more than able deputy and Smith was full of praise for the former Dunfermline centre-half, who has had to bide his time since signing up at Dens.
Smith added: “Matty has a dead calf but we are hoping he will be OK for Saturday. Neil has had to be patient but I know what he’s capable of and he showed that at Raith.”