Craig Wighton has learned to shut out outside pressures during his formative years as a Dundee player and feels that is precisely the way his team will get off the bottom of the Premiership.
The local lad has had to cope with major expectations since making his first-team debut at the age of 16.
Now aged 19 and with more than 50 first-team appearances for Dundee under his belt, the forward is keeping his focus on football.
Wighton, who has started the last two games, said: “Playing at 16 was good at the time but you maybe don’t realise there were a lot of expectations. I have had to deal with that throughout the time I have been here but I am used to that now.
“I am 19 now and getting a bit older so I want to play week in, week out. It’s up to me to make it hard for the manager to leave me out.
“I have played in the first team for a few years now but I have never really had a run of games. It’s always play one or two and go out for the next couple. It’s up to me to keep working hard and get myself in the team but I feel I can play a vital role in climbing up the table.
“There has always been stuff in the papers and it’s hard to get away from it because I am from Dundee and a lot of my friends and family are Dundee fans. People are always asking: ‘Is this true? Is that true?’ But you don’t let it affect you and you come in and work hard every day and forget about what people say or what goes on.”
Dundee ended a six-match losing run with victory at Hamilton last weekend and Wighton is determined to follow that up against Motherwell at Dens Park on Saturday.
“We didn’t start the way we wanted, everyone knows that,” Wighton said. “And the fans, press exaggerates and makes stories up but everyone is fighting for each other and everyone is happy and we are confident we can get off the bottom of the table.
“It’s been frustrating for the fans but it’s been frustrating for us as well at the start of the season. That win on Saturday was good for the fans but we need to build on that.
“We need to get two or three in a row and climb the table and then all the pressure is off, people stop talking about all the stuff that goes on and the manager.
“Nobody in here has ever listened to that. We are quite a close group and everyone is willing to fight for each other. You saw that on Saturday and that’s what we need to keep doing.”
