Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

GEORGE CRAN: Dundee return for Greg Stewart would be huge – and groundsmen suspension is reminder of football’s cruel side

The Dark Blues are back in action this weekend at Kilmarnock in the Scottish Cup.

Greg Stewart celebrates a Dundee goal at Dundee United
Greg Stewart remains a favourite at Dens Park. Image: SNS

Dundee better get ready for their travels at the start of 2024.

The Dark Blues will belated begin the new year with FOUR away games in a row.

Yes, four.

All in the space of two weeks.

Just like London buses, nothing for a whole winter break then jam-packed fixture churn as soon as the ball comes back out.

Or something like that. . .

It’s a crucial time for Tony Docherty and his side.

Dundee are back at Kilmarnock on Saturday. Image: Shutterstock

Probably the most crucial point in the season so far.

They immediately need to show they can live without the quality of Owen Beck on the left flank.

That’s a major hole to fill and something they’ve not done yet.

Greg Stewart?

The key to success this season is likely to be the additions Docherty makes this month.

If Greg Stewart is one of them, they’ll immediately increase their creativity and goal threat.

He may be 33 these days but there’s still an awful lot of quality in those feet.

And plenty of fuel left in those legs.

I’d wager he may even be fitter now than when he was at Dens Park eight years ago.

Remember Dundee signed him from part-time Cowdenbeath.

By the time he left the Dark Blues, he was probably still getting to grips with how to be a professional footballer at the top level.

It would also be a huge boost for the fanbase to see one of their favourites of the modern era back in dark blue.

Greg Stewart in action for Dundee. Image: SNS

We must remember, though, that a deal isn’t close to being done.

Conversations have taken place between player and manager.

However, the wages Stewart was on at Mumbai City I’d expect would be very good.

And difficult for Dundee to meet, if they can even get close.

What Stewart does have, though, is a real affinity with the club that gave him the chance to realise his dream of being a professional player.

It would be great to see him back at the club.


‘Bombshell’ Dens Park news

Brian and Brian Robertson at Dens Park. Image: David Young

I took a much-needed week off last week.

With no games on, it was a good time to wind down and relax.

However, no sooner was I back to work than I caught wind of the bombshell decision at Dens Park – father-and-son groundsmen team Brian and Brian Robertson had been suspended.

There has been no official reason given by the club and we can’t speculate.

All I can say is I’d echo my colleague Lee Wilkie’s comments yesterday – it will be the end of an era if there isn’t a Robertson tending to the pitch at Dens.

Both have been a fixture at the stadium since I’ve been in this city – Brian Snr for almost 40 years.

Bobby Geddes in 2010

Football is a cruel game, though.

And if an exit is on the cards, this’ll be yet another example of just that.

We’ve seen a few club stalwarts move on in recent years.

Goalkeeping coach Bobby Geddes headed for the exit in 2021 – he’d spent 11 years as a player at Dundee and 15 as a coach. He’s 15th in the all-time list of appearances.

Lorraine Noble, kit lady for many years, also left the club last year.

This sort of thing is usually done with an eye on progress but it does leave a sour taste in the mouth.

Football clubs should be about their local community – sometimes that ideal gets lost.

Conversation