We’re getting to crunch time for Dundee’s season now.
Saturday’s win over Arbroath was a good one and hopefully one they can kick on from now.
Ayr tonight and then Alloa on Friday are matches where they can do just that.
And they’ll be pleased to have another game so quickly after a positive day on Saturday where they can build on the confidence gained.
However, we have seen Dundee in this sort of position before – form drops off, they pick up again and you expect them to kick on but form drops once more.
That’s the sort of cycle they need to get themselves out of between now and the end of the season because games are running out.
Dangerous Dundee
The good thing for the Dark Blues is we are starting to see just how dangerous a team they really are.
Paul McMullan has been a very good addition and they’ve got Declan McDaid on the other side as well.
I don’t know what Charlie Adam’s stats are this year for creating chances, I’d expect it’s about three or four good chances a game.
I don’t think they are a million miles away from clicking.
What they’ve been lacking all season is consistency.
A 2-0 home win over Arbroath on Saturday will help no end, though.
There’s not many better results than that for a team.
The Red Lichties are a very tough side to beat, you can see by their results over the past few months.
It’s never easy to get the better of Dick Campbell’s side, no matter who you are.
The big issue for James McPake to address this season has been his defence.
They’ve conceded too many goals and it’s left them where they are in the table.
So a clean sheet is a huge bonus.
More of those and Dundee will start heading in the right direction, up the table towards second place.
Chance for young Sam Fisher?
There will be a worry this week, however, over fitness.
Liam Fontaine missed the game at the weekend with injury and his replacement Malachi Fagan-Walcott also picked up an injury in the game.
That might mean a chance for young Sam Fisher.
He doesn’t have much experience but it’ll be much easier for him going in this time around than the Raith match a while back.
Though that game didn’t go the way they wanted, Fisher will have learned a huge amount on top of everything he gained on loan at Forfar.
He’s a good player, I like the way he goes about things and his attitude is spot on.
Sometimes as a young player you just need a break and maybe a couple of injuries is the opportunity for him to find his first-team feet.
Tonight could be a big game for young Sam, if the others don’t make it.
Regardless, it is a massive game – they all are at the moment – for Dundee.
If they can finally find that consistency with six points over the next few days, they’ll be in second after Friday night.
They don’t need any more motivation than that.
Expecting Lawrence Shankland recall
Steve Clarke’s Scotland squad is announced today and I very much expect Dundee United’s Lawrence Shankland to be in there again.
We take on Austria and then Israel – again – in World Cup qualifiers for 2022.
I reckon Clarke will largely keep the squad that’s done him so well.
And that’ll be good news for Dundee United and their main man Shankland.
His form has been decent lately, three goals in his last five games.
And I don’t think the other strikers he’s competing with have been banging them in either.
For me, Shankland is exactly the type of player you want in any squad, knowing you can throw him on in the last 20 minutes of a game and he’ll take a chance that comes his way.
Clarke has seen the way he trains and looks like he’s settled on his core group.
The experimentation period for formations and players is over now.
If Shankland keeps up a decent level, he’ll keep his place.
Sooner than that, though, United face Aberdeen in an interesting league clash.
Obviously it’s the Dons’ first game after Derek McInnes left.
I’m also looking forward to seeing how Micky Mellon approaches it.
I think he’ll go strong looking for a result – then he can hopefully give some youngsters a chance in the final few games.
Football missing a trick – get our refs mic’d up
I stuck the rugby on over the weekend and was struck by how football is missing a trick.
I think it’s brilliant when you can hear exactly what the referee is saying, what players are saying to him and how decisions are come to, particularly with video refs.
I think it would be great in football.
Of course, we’d hear all sorts of language and the niggly relationships some players have with officials.
But players knowing everyone could hear them being out of order would stop that pretty quick.
I don’t know what we’re scared of.
https://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/fp/he-has-done-it-against-he-best-teams-in-this-country-lawrence-shankland-can-lead-the-line-for-scotland-this-summer-says-dundee-united-boss-micky-mellon/
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