James McPake hates Dundee being called a work in progress because he knows time is never really on your side in football.
The Dens boss is well aware that weeks and months spent knitting his squad together is a luxury he can ill afford, sitting as the Dark Blues do in sixth position in the Championship – seven points behind leaders Dundee United.
They need the three points from their trip to Dumfries to play Queen of the South in a live TV game tomorrow night.
It is a source of frustration for McPake but he is a realist. He knows supporters won’t just sit by patiently accepting bewlow-par displays while new players like Graham Dorrans and Kane Hemmings get themselves right up to speed as regards match sharpness.
The Dundee manager said: “I did think it might take time.
“I hate the phrase ‘work in progress’ because it is an excuse and you don’t get time in football for that.
“The belief is there from the players and certainly from the staff.
“I looked round the dressing-room even after getting beaten (1-0 from Morton) on Saturday and thought ‘We’ll be all right here.’ That was because I could see real quality there and I stand by that.
“It is still September and we are working ever so hard to get it right and we will.
“It is frustrating but it is very early on in the season.
“You can only say that for so long but we are working ever so hard to put it right and fully believe when it does click people will see a completely different side.
“It has been a complete rebuild and we are still bringing in players – Graham Dorrans came in last Friday – so of course that will take time.
“If we couldn’t have sold what we are trying to do to Dorrans then he wouldn’t have walked into the football club. He had loads of other options.
“However, we need wins on the board and to get the consistency in performances out there that we know is in this squad.”
McPake alluded to the contrast in expectation for a club like Dundee when playing in the Championship as opposed to the Premiership.
“This is a completely different league from what we have been in,” he added.
“It is a tough league and a shift totally from what we faced in the Premiership, where we were hanging on to stay in the league.
“The Championship is completely different.
“In the top flight you want to stay up and then push towards the top six but now it has flipped and we need to win every game.
“I prefer to have that pressure but we need to get it right.”
McPake brought Dorrans on after 56 minutes at Cappielow and the former Scotland and Rangers midfielder could start against the Doonhamers.
The Dundee gaffer said: “I’ve known him for 17 years so I know what he brings off the pitch as well as on it.
“He is a top-quality professional and I’m very glad we have him in our dressing-room.
“When he is eventually right at it I know what he will bring on the pitch.
“Dorrans is in great condition.
“When you play as many (English) Premier League games as he did, you have to be supremely fit and that carries with you.
“He told me he was ready to play last Saturday and I wasn’t convinced because he hadn’t even been to Dens yet.
“He is hungry and that’s the biggest thing for me.
“He is not a footballer seeing out the end of his career. He has a fire in him that he wants to show everybody that hasn’t seen him for two years exactly what he is all about.
“Can he do that? Of course he can because he is only 32 and his injuries have cleared up.”
A priority at Palmerston will be not conceding goals from setplays, something that has dogged the team this season.
McPake didn’t name names but, post-match, when he referred to the goal they lost against Morton it was clear he was unhappy with Cammy Kerr’s contribution.
He said: “It’s a big part of the game and something we have been working on.
“It was frustrating because for 44 minutes before it, anything coming into our box we were fantastic in dealing with against a real threat they had.
“That was their gameplan and credit to them because they got the three points.
“The disappointing thing was we worked on it all week and it let us down but we also worked on breaking teams down all week and that didn’t quite click either. We will keep working to combat it and it will get fixed.”
The Dens men will be at full strength in Dumfries papart from ankle injury victim Jamie Ness so that means Josh Meekings is available again after dealing with a private matter.
