This coming season is a big one in the young career of Dundee kid Fin Robertson.
Remarkably, the 19-year-old is already in his fifth season at Dens Park, despite his tender age.
But, with only eight league appearances in total over the past two campaigns, the club’s 2020 Young Player of the Year has some catching up to do.
Injuries and loans curtailed the number of Dundee matches he could feature in but Robertson now has a fresh start with a new manager at Dens Park.
First impression
Saturday was his first involvement under new boss Gary Bowyer, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 victory over Stranraer.
It was clear at Stair Park Bowyer was working hard to get his ideas across to Robertson, particularly in the first half where the Dark Blues struggled to break down a stubborn side.
And he and assistant manager Billy Barr took the youngster aside post-match to give more instruction over how they want Robertson to impact matches for Dundee this season.
“I felt the difference in him second half compared to the first half was night and day,” Bowyer said after the win.
“I was just explaining to him how we want him to play.
“We don’t want someone who just wants to pass sideways and backwards. We want a player who can hurt the opposition.
“And the technical ability he has got, he can.
“He showed us in the second half with his passing and the range of passing he has.”
Impressive
Having made his debut back in 2019 as a 16-year-old, alongside fellow first-teamer Josh Mulligan, Robertson was the front-runner in the current crop of youngsters pushing into the first team.
And Bowyer has been keen to give academy products their chance to shine in his short time at the club so far.
Already Robertson and Mulligan have been joined by Harry Sharp, Max Anderson, Jack Wilkie, Lyall Cameron and Sam Fisher in making appearances in the opening two matches.
The latter two have been involved in goals as well with Cameron firing in against Hamilton and Fisher playing a key role in the second goal at Stranraer.
Bowyer added: “Unfortunately Fin had a bang in the friendly game against Montrose so he missed five to six days with us.
“He’s like a lot of players we have here, they’ve all been impressive with their attitude and application.
“It’s about how you go about it and he’s another product of the youth system we have here.
“You need those players coming through the system.”
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