Jack Hamilton is hoping Osman Sow’s goals can fire Dundee back to the Premiership – just like they did for Hearts when they were team-mates at Tynecastle.
The big Swedish striker was the Dark Blues’ hat-trick hero on Saturday as they beat Queen of the South at Palmerston.
And goalie Hamilton believes the 30-year-old is edging closer to the sort of form he showed when his 11-goal haul for the season helped the Jam Tarts win promotion to the top tier in 2015.
Hamilton said: “Big Osman is brilliant. I played with him before and I know what he is capable of.
“He works so hard and you could just see it was coming together for him.
“He had been out with a serious Achilles injury for a while but he has been getting fitter and fitter.
“Osman is getting right up to scratch now. He is a great guy and I think he can be a really big player for us.
“I actually made my debut for Hearts against Hibs and I think Osman got sent off for a flying elbow!
“He has that inner steel and you need that but he has so much ability.
“He also works his sock offs every day to better himself. He is a top, top player and hopefully he can help us get back to where we all want to be in the Premiership.”
Saturday’s win means Dundee are now four games unbeaten and Hamilton believes the team is really starting to gel.
‘We’re all in it together at Dundee’
The 26-year-old added: “When you look at our squad as a whole there are some unbelievable players in there.
“There is a big buzz about the training camp and everybody is in it together.
“At the start of the season, there were spells when we were excellent but then there were individual errors, small things that weren’t right.
“We have kind of straightened that out and everybody is getting to know each other better – we had a lot of new boys.
“But everybody is working hard and the main thing is that we’re all in it together. We can feel it is getting better every week.
“We are not going to get ahead of ourselves – we will just focus on one game at a time – but I think we have really started to gel over the last couple of weeks, putting in performances.”
Dundee are building up a head of steam but Hamilton is certainly taking nothing for granted against part-time Alloa.
Hamilton said: “Momentum is massive in this league, especially with not so many games this season.
“But we just have to continue focusing on one game at a time and trying to get more wins.
‘We don’t need any warnings about Alloa’
“Alloa are a dangerous team and we drew with them the last time we played them.
“It is a massive game for us. Regardless of who you are playing, it is the three points that matter.
“We certainly don’t need any warnings about Alloa. They are a good side and a really good footballing team.
“It will not be easy at all but we just need to concentrate on ourselves and get the job done.”