Both Dundee’s and my own time in Austria is coming to an end.
The Dens Park players have been put through their paces in one of the most stunning settings in Europe and are now ready to fly back home and get their teeth into 10 months of competitive football.
Two things have struck me this week – the beauty of the surroundings here in Austria and the tangible optimism of the Dundee camp.
There is a positive buzz emitting from the team’s Obertraun base. Indeed, several key players have told me they feel settled, happy and at home playing for the Dark Blues.
Guys like Paul McGowan and Darren O’Dea who, for different reasons, haven’t felt entirely satisfied with life on and off the pitch in recent years are saying that they have rarely been as happy as they are playing under Paul Hartley.
The quality within the club’s staff is undeniable, and last season wasn’t a failure by any stretch of the imagination. But when the aforementioned duo are insisting they should be aiming for the top six at the very least, it leaves you wondering what this talent, mixed with steely desire, can achieve.
Competing consistently over a marathon campaign with the likes of Hearts, Aberdeen and the Old Firm may prove a bridge too far, but the comments from McGowan and O’Dea are more than just soundbites; they’re the realisation from two experienced players that this group can and should go further.
They were blown away by Rangers in the last eight of the Scottish Cup last year, but there is no reason whatsoever that Dundee cannot go all the way this year.
Keeping a hold of key men like Greg Stewart and Kane Hemmings will certainly help this become a reality, but Hartley’s team are about much more than two talented forwards.
Time will tell what Dundee achieve during 2016/2017, but having looked into the eyes of several first team members, my overriding impression is of a conviction that they can improve on last term.
The time for talking the talk is almost over.
We’ll soon know how justified that conviction is.
