There isn’t much wrong at Dundee right now – but things aren’t quite right either.
Just two league wins from their last six, 10 points dropped from the last 18, isn’t title-winning form.
But the rest of the Championship doesn’t seem too keen on winning the league either.
The second tier is always a strange place, often ridiculously close and everyone beating everyone.
So we shouldn’t be too surprised.
Ayr were the strong team early on, setting out in front, before Queen’s Park took over with a good run of form to end 2023.
Dundee, meanwhile, also had their best run at exactly the same time.
And now seem to be mirroring the stumbles of the Spiders.
Top spot waiting to be grabbed
It is hugely frustrating from a Dundee point of view.
Top spot is just sitting there waiting for someone to grab it and take control.
The Dark Blues have the chance to do just that in the next 10 days or so.
Three games in the space of eight days, all winnable, would be the perfect time to hit their stride.
Friday’s defeat at Greenock Morton was a sore one, but not a shock. Ton defeated Queen’s Park the week before and Dundee hadn’t managed to find a way past Dougie Imrie’s defence all season.
That continued, of course, and left Gary Bowyer with some problems to solve.
But, despite dropping three points, they didn’t lose any real ground on their rivals for promotion.
Ayr got beat by Partick and Queen’s Park drew, meaning Dundee will be top of the table if they win their next two games.
It’s still in their hands.
Thistle tussles
And they have the ability in that squad to dominate the division – but they have to start showing it now.
Inverness have always been a team to cause Dundee problems and I don’t expect anything else this weekend.
Who knows which Caley Jags will turn up, though? Will it be the team that toppled Livingston 3-0 on their own patch in the Scottish Cup or the side that were beaten 3-0 at home by bottom side Hamilton at the weekend?
They also ran out winners on their last trip to Dens Park.
As did Partick Thistle on the opening day of the season.
But, once more, who knows which version of the Firhill side will turn up?
These two contests are the Championship in microcosm, impossible to know how they will go due to the inconsistencies of all the teams involved.
The team that wins the division is the one that bucks that trend, however. The one that shrugs off inconsistency and puts together a run of results.
Whoever does that can streak away and leave their inconsistent rivals behind them.
It’s up to Dundee to make sure they are the team that does just that.
Paul McGowan
It will be very strange to see a Dundee squad without Paul McGowan in it between now and the end of the season, however.
Through good times and bad, the midfielder has been an ever-present since 2014.
It appears he’ll be finishing his Dark Blues career on 302 appearances after joining Dunfermline until the end of the season when his Dundee contract will also finish.
It looks like the end of an era at Dens.
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