Luke Graham has returned to Dundee a “more mature and definitely more confident” footballer.
That’s not the assessment of someone watching him, it’s the assessment of the man himself.
The 20-year-old stepped up to the Dark Blues first team in the summer after a number of loan moves in the lower leagues.
Then, despite making his Dee debut and then starting the first league match of the season, Graham was sent back out on loan to gain more experience.
That saw him arrive at Championship new boys Falkirk. And he made quite the impact.
Scone-born Graham was a regular in the team that shot to the top of the table with the Bairns hoping for back-to-back promotions.
They’ll have to manage that without the Dundee man at the back after he was recalled and immediately thrust into action at the start of this month.
Falkirk
“Falkirk was amazing. It’s helped me mature a lot as a player,” Graham told Courier Sport.
“I have felt the difference since being back about how much more mature and definitely more confident I am.
“Falkirk gave me that platform to show what I can do and I’ve done really well.
“I got experience of playing regular football and playing in the Championship.
“It’s a good level and I’ve come back trying to just use all that in this team as well.
“I feel more ready now.
“If I’m comparing both the derbies I played in, I felt a lot more confident and ready on Thursday than I did at the start of the season.”
St Johnstone
Graham’s first two Premiership appearances were both Dundee derbies – one at Tannadice and one at Dens.
His third appearance saw the young defender take on his hometown team St Johnstone, where he enjoyed his first experience of a top-flight victory.
“The start couldn’t have been better,” Graham said of Dundee’s three goals in the first 22 minutes at McDiarmid Park.
“St Johnstone start games really strong, so we needed to start it stronger. That’s definitely what we’ve done, scoring three goals in the first half.
“They’re a good side, they pass it about well, but I felt like we defended really well in the second half to see the game out.
“It was frustrating not to get a clean sheet, I felt like we worked hard enough to get it.
“They were passing it about, but it was all in front of us, so they were never really causing us any real danger or anything.
“So it was a bit gutting to lose the goal.”
A former youth player at St Johnstone, Graham revealed he also got some pelters from the home end.
“I was here when I was younger but fell out of the team,” he added.
“So it was good to come back and get a few goals and play in front of a lot of people that I know in the crowd as well.
“I got a bit of stick from them during the game but that was part of the fun.”
Future
Next up is Rangers at Dens Park.
But what about beyond that? What is the aim for the rest of the season?
Graham keeps it simple.
“The aim is to just keep playing regular football here,” he said.
“I feel like I’ve given myself a good start and I just want to keep going and keep getting better.”
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