The past 24 days without a game has revived unwanted memories of last season for Dundee defender Ricki Lamie.
The centre-back found himself on the sidelines at Motherwell last season through injury and then the form of those in the team while he was out.
With game time limited again this term, he headed out on loan to Dens Park in search for regular football.
At the age of 30, playing games was key and he’s been getting that with Dundee.
Frustrating
Until the weather stepped in and saw two matches in a row called off with an international break in between for good measure.
Tonight, though, they will be finally back in Premiership action against Ross County.
“At Motherwell I had been in and out a bit because of injury,” Lamie explained.
“When I was out the team did really well, it happens in football at times.
“I spoke to the manager here and he felt I had something to give, so I was really keen to come.
“I just turned 30 in the summer so feel I am just coming into the peak of my career and want to play as much as possible.
“Last season was frustrating because I had a hernia but it wasn’t a sports one they can usually diagnose easily.
“It was a bit lower down and because of that they didn’t notice it straight away and were checking for other health things.
“It cost me a few months of football but has been all sorted now and I’m back feeling good again.
“I feel like I have plenty to give.”
Ahead of tonight’s home clash with Ross County, he added: “It has been a long time since we played, you almost forget what it feels like.
“It has felt a bit like coming out of the winter break, although we’ve not had the time off and the mini pre-season you get during that!
“The good thing is that County have been the same as us, they haven’t played either.
“The way we are looking at this is that we’re the only game on the card this midweek so it’s a chance to get a few points on the board and get ahead of some teams.”
Pre-contract
Lamie’s arrival at Dens Park was a long time in the making.
A previous move was aborted after he signed a pre-contract in 2022 when James McPake was in charge.
McPake, though, was sacked just weeks later and the club were relegated with Mark McGhee in charge. He then left at the end of the dismal campaign as the club faced up to Championship football once more.
Lamie explained: “The manager I signed for left and the club was two managers down the line, plus the team had dropped out of the league.
“So a lot had changed and things were up in the air a bit.
“I didn’t have any correspondence with the then-manager, so it made sense to stay put at Motherwell at that moment in time.
“But the same points that attracted me in the first place were in play this summer.
“This is a big club with a great history, so when I spoke to the current manager about what he wants to do it felt really good.
“He’s signed very well, the plans for the club are impressive and the setup is great.
“So all the boxes were ticked for me.”
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