There was a special round of applause in the Dundee dressing-room after last Sunday’s game against Livingston.
The home players’ acclaim was in recognition of the contribution of goalie Trevor Carson who had pulled off a stunning stop in the dying embers of the match to ensure the Dark Blues held on to their one-goal advantage and secured a precious three points.
Zach Robinson admitted the clapping to honour his team-mate was thoroughly well deserved – but now the striker is determined to make a big impact of his own at the other end of the pitch by opening his Premiership goal-scoring account against St Mirren this afternoon.
The on-loan AFC Wimbledon front man stated: “Trevor is a great goalkeeper who pulls off some amazing saves.
“We let him know he is a great goalkeeper.
“We gave him a round of applause for the save he made – it was world class – but it was also for all the remarkable stops he has made already this season.
“Hopefully we can help keep them to a minimum but it’s great to have him in our team.”
Robinson netted 13 times for Dundee last season, helping the club win promotion from the Championship but the 21-year-old is still searching for his first top-tier goal – and he aims to find it against the Buddies.
Robinson added: “For me it is frustrating because you want to score as many as you can.
“I have yet to score in the league. I have come close a few times and I should have scored a few times.
“But I am sure the goal will come from me if I just keep working hard and try the best I can.”
Robinson’s frustration has been intensified by the fact that he has been struggling with a niggling injury but having made his comeback last week against Livingston, he is determined to kick on once more.
Robinson said: “It was good to be back on the pitch again.
“It had been a little while but we have had plenty of games called off and international breaks so it feels a little bit longer.
“I hadn’t actually missed that many games but it was still frustrating because as a footballer you just want to play as much as you can.
“So it was definitely good to be back out there.
“It was a niggling Achilles injury which I’d had for a while, a workload kind of thing I had.
“Now it is just about building up my minutes on the pitch and feeling fit again and good about myself.”
Robinson played under Gary Bowyer while on loan at Dundee last season but Tony Docherty has been his boss this time round.
And the player admitted he is loving life with “Doc” in charge.
Robinson said: “He is a great manager and a great guy as well.
“You can talk to him and he is helping me a lot which is good for me.
“He is one who understands the difficulties of living away from home.
“For example, for me he has given me a day to see my family and he is also really helping me on the pitch, where to be and what movements to make.”
Robinson’s parents, Carolyn and Mark, are regular visitors to the City of Discovery and made the long trip from their London home last week to see their son in action.
The striker said: “My mum and dad were at the game last weekend.
“They get the train up from London which is the lesser of two evils so to speak as driving is like nine hours and the plane is quite expensive.
“They love coming up to Scotland especially when the weather is nice in Broughty Ferry, they really like it.”
Dundee will be without Josh Mulligan who is recovering from hernia surgery.
Conversation