Gary Bowyer vows Dundee will not be taking Arbroath lightly at Gayfield today despite their lowly league position.
The Red Lichties host their neighbours with just five Championship points to their name from eight games, leaving them bottom of the division.
Bowyer’s Dark Blues, however, have not been in the best form themselves with four defeats in nine in the league.
That’s after losing in midweek at Cove Rangers – a performance the Dens Park boss wants to see a reaction from this afternoon.
“Their position doesn’t matter,” Bowyer said of Dick Campbell’s Arbroath.
“It’s about who they are, who the manager is and what they’ve achieved.
“They’ll know they are only a couple of wins away from going on a run.
“I have a lot of time for Dick and his staff for what they’ve done.
“One game away from the Premiership last season so shows I think how tight this league is this season.
“But we’ve done our work and prepared properly.
“I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction from our players from Tuesday.
“I will learn a lot more about their character.
“When there has been a setback we’ve bounced back and we’re looking for that again.”
Changes
Bowyer hasn’t been slow to make changes in his time as Dundee boss and admits there could be more at Arbroath today after the disappointment in midweek.
Striker Zak Rudden and winger Luke McCowan could be among them.
“The majority of the time the players pick the team – performances good and bad,” Bowyer added.
“If you look for positives from Tuesday’s defeat, the way we chased the game second half and chances we created was good.
“Zak Rudden could’ve had a hat-trick, the goalkeeper pulled off two very good saves.
“It is something we have to look at in terms of the personnel.
“Luke McCowan’s return has been good for us.
“There are players who are certainly putting a case forward to be picked.”
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