Avoiding rustiness is key for Dundee this weekend as they prepare for their first fixture in three weeks.
The Dark Blues will travel to Aberdeen for a 6pm kick-off this Saturday having not played a first-team fixture since September.
A call-off against Ross County just under a fortnight ago preceded the international break and manager Tony Docherty has been doing all he can to keep his players as sharp as possible.
A much stronger Dundee XI was chosen for a testimonial at Stirling Albion than originally planned following the County call-off.
Dundee starting line-up for tonight’s match against Stirling Albion – Ross McGeachie’s Testimonial#thedee pic.twitter.com/d0T4w7xghH
— Dundee Football Club (@DundeeFC) October 10, 2023
And on Tuesday, the Dundee reserve side boasted the likes of Lee Ashcroft, Ryan Howley, Diego Pineda and Mo Sylla as they faced Dundee United in the Reserve Cup.
‘Done all we can to keep momentum going’
“It’s a long time, not something you want,” Dens boss Docherty said of the three-week gap in fixtures.
“The Ross County game was an unwanted inconvenience.
“You want to build on the momentum you’ve gained. I felt after a really strong performance against Hibs and the way things went against Kilmarnock our momentum was good.
“So I was looking forward to going into that and was really disappointed the game didn’t go ahead.
“Obviously we didn’t want to put the Ross County game to chance with the weather the way it was.
“In the meantime we have done what we could to keep the boys ticking over.
“We had a practice match last Saturday in place of the Ross County game. We also had a testimonial game at Stirling Albion and had another practice match.
“And then we had a reserve game on Tuesday against Dundee United were I put a few boys in.
“So we have done all we can to keep the momentum going. But I noticed back in training since Monday the players are really champing at the bit to get going again and so am I.
“We’ve got Fin Robertson and Josh Mulligan to come back and Amadou Bakayoko to come back to get us to our full complement in Thursday’s training.”
Team news
The Dark Blues remain hopeful over welcoming back some of their injured stars.
Lyall Cameron, Zach Robinson and Scott Tiffoney are all doubts for the Premiership clash at Pittodrie.
Jordan McGhee and Charlie Reilly, however, are available once more.
Josh Mulligan, meanwhile, is suspended with one game remaining of his two-game ban.
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