Dundee United can place their boot firmly on title rivals Raith Rovers’ throat by winning at Ayr.
In fact a seaside victory could effectively be their Championship clincher.
With Rovers not playing, a Somerset park win for United would open a four-point gap, with a game still in-hand ahead of a Starks Park visit in a fortnight.
Victory over Scott Brown’s Honest Men, though, will require more pace and punch than the Tangerines showed last week against Dunfermline, when a distinct lack of tempo in their play allowed a solidly organised defence to thwart them.
I don’t expect United to be like Liverpool, but the Reds’ midweek masterclass in demolishing Chelsea shows how hard it is for opponents to cope with constant speedy movement and snappy passing.
The more the ball is moved at pace, allied to the swift movement of runners zipping into space to offer passing options, the more difficult it is for the opposition to mark and defend.
United aren’t overloaded with speed merchants as in the glory days of Ralph Milne and Eamonn Bannon, but Glenn Middleton, Matthew Cudjoe and new signing Alex Greive are all lively on their toes.
Jim Goodwin’s title-chasers are purposeful and neat with the ball and dominate games in terms of possession, but the fastest player is never as fast as the fastest ball.
Moving the ball at a sharper tempo, with each pass played a fraction quicker, would benefit them greatly in their mission to seal a return to the Premiership at the first time of asking.
I was at Dens Park in 1986, along with 19,500 others, when Dundee broke Hearts to deny them the league title.
Albert Kidd’s two goals ensured he became not just a Dundee hero but a legend with fans of Celtic and Hibs.
Since then there’s been a real edge to meetings between the teams.
Two weeks ago at Tynecastle, the Dark Blues managed to squander their two-goal lead and ship three goals to lose, but they proved they can go toe-to-toe with Scotland’s third best side.
Now, fresh from a creditable draw at Pittodrie which resulted in the demise of Dons boss Barry Robson, and with inspirational Liverpool loanee Owen Beck back, the Dees must believe they can again give Hearts a hard time.
Docherty’s daredevils have a top six finish in their sights.
I think they’re good enough – and if their self belief is strong enough then a top half Premiership finish is eminently achievable.
If Beck’s leaving was a blow to all at Dens, then his return is perhaps the psychological boost needed to inspire Dundee to even greater heights.
Their progress after promotion has been astonishing; with a reconstructed squad punching not above their weight but well within it, and matching or outperforming Hibs and Aberdeen, with their far bigger budgets.
Hearts – a stick-on for third place – pose a major test; to pass it Dundee must show that they’ve learned the harsh lessons their lack of street smarts and savvy cost them at Tynecastle.
They’ve scored as many as Hearts, with 29 goals, but conceded 13 more, so defensively must this weekend ensure there’s no naivety of the kind that saw them ship three goals in that fateful 29-minute spell in Edinburgh.
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