Dens Park doesn’t feel like a happy place right now.
Four defeats on the bounce will do that to a club.
Four without scoring only adds to the dismay.
Then you add on top all the other stuff like captain Charlie Adam’s arrest and police charge and Jason Cummings’ over-exuberance, shall we say, at Si Ferry’s Open Goal Live show in Glasgow.
Plus injuries to key players, a threadbare squad pushed to its limits and a fanbase who remain unconvinced by manager James McPake.
Bottom two
In the last few weeks, the Dens boss has managed to steer his team clear of the bottom two places.
However, Dundee will spend Christmas in the Premiership’s bottom two, whether they like it or not.
With 11th and 12th facing each other tonight as Ross County head to St Johnstone, any result puts the Dark Blues down into second bottom.
A draw or an away win and the Staggies move up, a home win and Saints leapfrog the two ahead of them.
Sorry to be the Grinch by pointing that out Dundee fans but it’s true.
Dens Park has been buffeted from all sides this season.
The good news is, though, they are still well in the fight.
January life raft
January feels like the life raft they are searching for right now.
At the very least, they’ll get loan players like Fin Robertson back to bolster the squad numbers.
Knowing McPake, though, he’ll be desperate to improve the quality he has to choose from.
Because that’s been the downfall in recent times.
The last two matches made that clear as Dundee failed to create any real chances of note against Hibs and Hearts.
Two good teams, of course, but the two matches were hard work for the Dark Blues.
And it felt like the efforts of what has been a largely unchanged starting XI of late had caught up with them.
Alex Jakubiak made a return from the bench on Saturday, Shaun Byrne and Charlie Adam will hopefully re-appear in the next couple of weeks.
Either of those latter two will feel like a new signing to stretched squad.
Waiting too long for Leigh Griffiths now?
But it’s been made abundantly clear in the last couple of weeks that more help is needed.
A physical option up front is missing with Cillian Sheridan out for the season.
Danny Mullen is a fighter and has done a great job this season but there needs to be another option for when it’s not happening for him.
It’s now past the point where you can say ‘when Leigh Griffiths is fit, Dundee will be a different team’. He looks a shadow of his former self.
There’s still time to turn it around again but his team are in a relegation battle, they can’t afford passengers any more.
Purely from his goal return, Dundee will surely look at the chunk of his wages they are paying in wages and wonder if they’re getting value for money.
Some help for the likes of Paul McMullan and Luke McCowan to provide competition and other options wouldn’t go amiss.
Centre-back and another full-back option are musts, though, in January.
Dees need some cheer soon, the transfer window is the best bet to bring some.
