After Dundee play Hibs on Saturday at Easter Road, they have another near two-week break – and to say they will need to recharge their batteries during that time without a game would be an understatement.
The Dark Blues face a potentially-bleak midwinter run of fixtures next month when they will play no less than seven games in just 24 days.
That’s a match every 3.42 days, a gruelling schedule that will stretch Jim McIntyre’s squad to the limit.
In contrast, St Johnstone “only” have six games during the same period while Dundee United have the luxury of just four compared to Dundee’s not so magnificent seven.
It all starts for the Dark Blues with a proverbial six-pointer against Hamilton at Dens on December 5 with Steven Gerrard’s Rangers the visitors the following Sunday.
There is then a truly daunting triple header of away fixtures at Kilmarnock on Saturday, December 15, a trip to Pittodrie to face Aberdeen on the Tuesday evening all topped off with a nice easy visit to the east end of Glasgow on Saturday, December 22 to the home of champions Celtic – a side who put five past the Dark Blues the last time the teams met.
The following Wednesday – Boxing Day – Dundee will try to find some Christmas cheer against Livingston which will be far from easy as this season’s shock troops beat Dundee 4-0 in October.
The final game of the month – if the Dundee players haven’t all been dragged off to the knacker’s yard by this time – is on the 29th, a Tayside derby with St Johnstone.
There is then the winter break which means Dundee will have just two league games in January towards the end of the month.
Considering they only had three fixtures in November it does beggar belief that they will have to cram in seven Premiership games in December.
I know cup finals and internationals have to be fitted into the fixture schedule but the pile-up going into the festive season is ridiculous.
It will put a huge burden on a group of players trying to turn their season around after a disastrous start.
And as for the fans . . . even the most committed Dundee diehard would struggle to find the will, let alone the financial wherewithal, to travel to Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Glasgow all within the space of a week and pay good money to watch football, just a few days before Christmas.
Bah, humbug!
