He was delighted with his side’s weekend win in the Betfred Cup but Dundee boss James McPake knows it will take a similar display to secure another victory at Cove Rangers tonight.
James heads for a clash with mentor Paul Hartley, the man who pushed him towards coaching during their time together at Dens Park, knowing his old boss will have his part-time team well prepared.
“It will be every bit as tough as at Raith. We’ve seen Cove a couple of times and they will be good,” he said.
“Knowing Paul’s teams they’ll be fit, they’ll be in our faces so it’s another tough one. It’s exactly what I said on Friday (in advance of the Raith game), it’s competitive football.
“We’re not going up there taking it lightly. If we do that we’ll lose the game.”
Once the action is over, James plans to sit down for a chat with his opposite number, a man he holds in high regard from their time at Dens.
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James said: “He was the one who got me into coaching. Well, not got me into it, but gave me a head start.
“There was a conversation when I came up to meet him about signing. He said the option is there if you want to coach.
“Kevin Thomson was here as well, so the two of us did it a wee bit and then, as it progressed, we had Darren O’Dea and Cammy Kerr.
“Paul encouraged it and it worked. It was good, we bounced ideas off each other and we got to try wee things and it was in an environment where it didn’t matter if you won.
“Cammy’s a different one but, for senior players, it was great to do that and it has helped me massively.
“If Paul hadn’t done that then I wouldn’t be sitting here, that’s for sure.”
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