Jack Wilkie hopes he can follow the examples of Josh Mulligan and Lyall Cameron by using a loan at Peterhead to force his way into Dundee’s first-team.
Mulligan and Cameron both had loan spells with the Blue Toon and returned to Dens Park ready for more involvement.
Wilkie is taking the same route this season, joining Jim McInally’s team alongside Dark Blues team-mate Ewan Murray.
Despite poor results Wilkie has enjoyed the opportunity to play senior football and hopes he can emulate his team-mates’ fortunes.
“Josh was a full-back last year and now he’s doing really well for Dundee in the Championship,” said Wilkie.
“I just hope that can be me.
“I speak to Danny Strachan most days and I spoke to Josh, Lyall and Cammy Kerr as well about their time here.
“Flynn Duffy (Dundee United defender) was at my school and I spoke to him about how things were last year. They’ve all said I need to stick in and listen to the coaches.
“I was at East Craigie last year and I loved that – we were going for the league and there weren’t many weeks where I was losing.
“It’s been tough at times this year but I knew that going in, because they’re only one league below Dundee and of the quality of teams that are here.
“But I’ve really enjoyed it so far. Results have not been going our way but I have played against guys like James Craigen and Kallum Higginbotham and felt like I’ve done well.”
‘Old school’
Working with Scottish football’s longest-serving manager in McInally has helped Wilkie’s development, as well as playing alongside ex-Dundee defender Paul Dixon.
“Jim has helped me so much,” said Wilkie.
“Because he’s a bit more old school, I feel like I needed to learn from him a bit more.
“He gives us a lot of feedback. If you think to yourself that you’ve done alright and he thinks otherwise, it’s good to have that reality check.
“Because Paul plays the same position as me, he’s helped me a lot. He’s talked me through games, even when we’re on the bench.”
Conversation