Luke Graham is ready for the step up to first-team football.
The Dundee youngster has already received high praise from manager Tony Docherty after impressing in pre-season.
An injury to experienced centre-back Clark Robertson has opened up an opportunity and the Dens gaffer has been pleased by what he’s seen from the 20-year-old.
However, the Perth lad is yet to get out on the pitch since moving up to the first team at the start of the summer.
Graham spent last season on loan at Montrose and is patiently waiting to make his competitive debut for Dundee.
He did, though, score in a pre-season friendly in Poland against Banik Ostrava, as he showed up well in pre-season.
Now he’s keen to get a chance in the next two matches, against Annan and Inverness, as Dundee finish up their Premier Sports Cup group campaign.
“I feel ready,” the youngster exclusively told Courier Sport.
“It is a big step up and it is really competitive but I feel like I am ready to do the business.
“Moving up to the first team feels like a reward for all the work I’ve put in over the years.
“Going out on loan and experiencing what proper men’s football is has helped.
“Now it’s good to be in the first team and I aim to show the manager what I can do.”
Scott Robertson influence
Graham started off in the youth setup at Tayside rivals St Johnstone but chose to go back into boys club football as a teenager.
There he caught the eye of Dundee scouts and he’s been delighted by the decision to join up with the youth setup at Dens Park.
A major influence in his development has been former Scotland international Scott Robertson, Dundee’s head of professional programme.
“I was at St Johnstone when I was younger and didn’t come into Dundee until I was about 17,” Graham added.
“I was on trial and then I’ve been full-time for three years now.
“It’s been good. I’ve had Scott Robertson all the way through and he has been brilliant, taught me a lot.
“Most of the things I know now, on the pitch and behaving off it, come from Scott Robertson.
“He’s been brilliant with me.
I always felt Dundee was the place to be. I was set on being here and playing here,” Luke Graham.
“I want to emulate how well guys like Lyall Cameron, Josh Mulligan and Fin Robertson have done.
“It definitely helps when you are in the academy and you can see there is a chance to get into the first team because you work harder.
“At the end of the day, you can be rewarded for your hard work.”
‘Nothing ever swayed me’
Highly-regarded at Dens Park, there was a chance Dundee might lose the young defender before he reached the first team, after he accepted a trial down at Sheffield United.
However, Graham insists there was no tempting away from his shot at the Dark Blues first team.
“That was a good experience, seeing somewhere else after having been at Dundee for a couple of years,” he added.
“I just felt Dundee was a place where you get a real chance to express yourself and play first team football.
“You can learn so much.
“I always felt Dundee was the place to be. I was set on being here and playing here.
“Nothing ever swayed me from that.
“And it’s paying off now. It makes me think I made the right choice.”
Now he’s hoping to get a first competitive run-out this week.
“Definitely. I hope I get a chance,” Graham added.
“Obviously it is not up to me but I’ll just do what I can do on the pitch and hopefully that is enough for the manager to give me a chance.
“I’m really eager to get on and show what I can do.”
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