Ryan Astley admits he has “missed the feeling” of first-team football.
However, his patience and hard work was rewarded with a return to Dundee’s starting line-up for the weekend win at Motherwell.
Astley had played just a handful of minutes since a Premier Sports Cup group stage start against Annan back in July.
And Motherwell was his first Premiership start since a May defeat at Rangers.
But the weekend saw Astley back in the team and he played a big part in Dundee’s first league clean sheet of the season, earning a crucial win to end a poor run in the process.
“You can’t beat a 1-0 away from home. We knew we needed to win,” Astley exclusively told Courier Sport.
“After a few disappointing results, in training we’ve all been at it and that showed on Saturday.
“Everyone put such a shift in and I think we deserved that.
“I’ve always worked hard on the training pitch, waiting for my chance, and it showed on Saturday that I was fit enough to play 90 minutes.
“A little bit of cramp came in the last five minutes and seven minutes added on didn’t help!
“But adrenaline gets you through it. Just keeping that clean sheet gets you through anything like that.
“I enjoyed being out there. I missed the feeling.
“But we’ve got a strong team, and I knew that coming here.”
Manager review
Astley has rarely been injured since arriving at Dundee from Everton in January.
However, neither have the defenders in front of him in the pecking order.
Patience has been his virtue and manager Tony Docherty recognises that.
The Dens boss was full of praise for Astley’s attitude as he waited for his chance and is even more delighted that the young defender took it.
“The building is full of brilliant professionals and Ryan’s another example of that,” Docherty said.
“Ryan started the season with a really good League Cup campaign.
“Then just with the way the team’s been playing he’s had to wait for his opportunity.
“He’s trained fantastically well – he gets an opportunity to come in and does well.”
Docherty advice
Astley hasn’t allowed his head to drop despite featuring in just four league matches before the weekend.
And he revealed manager Docherty had a word with him after revealing his team for Fir Park.
“It’s been tough,” Astley admitted.
“But I knew coming up here, there’d be competition. And I’ve got good players in my position, I knew that.
“Being at Dundee, you can’t guarantee your place.
“So I worked hard on the training pitch, I’ve given everything. And Saturday was a bit of a reward for me.
“I’m delighted.
“I found out I’d be in the team on Friday, the manager just said, ‘play your own game. I’ve signed you for a reason. Just play your own game and enjoy it’.
“He always talks about competition, and when somebody gets a chance, it’s about taking it.
“It feels good. But it’s on to the next one now. Don’t look too far ahead.”
The next one is St Johnstone at home on Saturday. Does he feel he’s done enough to keep his place?
“I hope so, yeah, but who knows? Hopefully.”
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