Tony Docherty has welcomed the selection headache awaiting him in each of Dundee’s final five remaining fixtures.
After eight players were missing just a few weeks ago, the Dark Blues squad is suddenly in rude health.
Jordan McGhee and Curtis Main have been back in action while Trevor Carson and Josh Mulligan returned to the squad against Rangers on Wednesday and Zach Robinson was on the bench at Aberdeen.
Ryan Howley is available once more while Diego Pineda is also back in training.
The one fitness worry is skipper Joe Shaughnessy after he limped off against Rangers on Wednesday.
However, they now have a break between fixtures – 11 days between the 0-0 draw at home to Rangers on Wednesday and the Dens clash with leaders Celtic.
And the chance to get everyone up to speed for the final push.
Docherty said: “It’s been really pleasing to see players who may have been on the fringes, I’ve seen how hard they have pushed themselves to get fit for this stage of the season.
“There’s nothing more pleasing as a manager to see everyone in your squad doing absolutely everything they can.”
Owen Beck
One that remains absent, however, is Owen Beck.
The Liverpool loanee has been a standout throughout the campaign with his storming runs from the left.
And he was named in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year on Saturday.
But he is back with his parent club after picking up a groin injury at the start of March.
“We’ll hopefully see him before the end of the season,” Docherty said.
“He is making progress.
“Owen played 28 games in a row at that level and that’s something he’d never done before.
“We’re keeping in regular contact with Liverpool and it would be great to get him back for some stage of the season.
“But, at the moment, we’re still waiting on word on that.”
Team spirit
While Beck is back in Liverpool, the rest of the squad will get a chance to unwind together before getting stuck into preparations for Celtic next Sunday.
Docherty says off-field get-togethers away from the training pitch and stadium have been vital in building the positive team spirit at Dens Park this season.
And it’s something the coaching staff and players work hard on.
“We’ll get time on the grass but there will be time for other things as well,” the Dark Blues boss said.
“A huge part of this squad has been their togetherness and to continue that there was a golf day organised for the boys.
“The most pleasing thing for me as manager is there is a really healthy level of competition but there are real friendships here as well.
“You can see that on the pitch, the way they look out for one another.
“But that’s not by chance, they put the work in to make sure there is a real relationship with the players outwith football.
“So we’ll have a bit of that, a social get-together before we get into the last four weeks of the season.
“There will be extra training work for boys who have just come back from injury.
“And we’ll also have a bit more time on the grass to spend time on technical and tactical things.”
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