There was a point last season – coincidentally against Raith Rovers – when Shaun Byrne’s first-half introduction sparked excitement around Dens Park.
The midfielder hadn’t played too much under Gary Bowyer, Dundee manager at the time, but grasped his opportunity after replacing Joe Grayson as a substitute.
Byrne had a positive effect on the Dark Blues’ 2-0 win and went on to start in three subsequent victories against Hamilton, Airdrie and Inverness before dropping out again and rarely featuring subsequently.
His last start for the club came in another match versus Rovers – this time a very competitive draw that saw Byrne withdrawn at half-time with Dundee trailing by a goal.
The 30-year-old midfielder went on to make just a handful of cameo appearances between then and the end of the season.
Now, after signing up at Stark’s Park on a season long loan, he is relishing the chance to showcase his talents again.
No arguments at Dundee
“I don’t know what happened [at Dundee],” he told Courier Sport. “I went into the team at that point, I think we won four or five games and I was playing well.
“Sometimes your face just doesn’t fit with a manager.
“It was one of them. We never had any arguments or anything, I kept working hard and kept myself right.
“This is a fresh start for me. I think I needed it to go and show everybody how good a player I can be.”
Byrne chose Raith over a number of other options, attracted by the changes at Stark’s Park over the summer – and, no doubt, some familiar faces in the squad.
He is now preparing to be involved versus Morton this Saturday but manager Ian Murray warned that, due to a lack of game time recently, it will take a week or so to get the player up to speed.
Shaun Byrne pushing for Raith debut after move from Dundee
Whether involved or not, Byrne is well aware of the threat posed by Dougie Imrie’s side, who kicked off their league campaign with a win over Ayr United.
Murray also hopes to have Ross Millen and Scott Brown available for Saturday.
“It’ll be a really tough game, to be honest,” said Byrne. “I think Morton could be one of the teams that are up there.
“The ended the season well last year and you never get an easy game against Morton – you never get an easy game against anyone in the Championship.
“We need to be properly at it and hopefully we can get a good win.”
