Dundee’s Jim McAlister doesn’t need to be enlightened as to why his new club are most people’s favourites to be relegated from the SPL at the end of the season.
Any team who had been promoted in their unique circumstances would be.
That hasn’t stopped McAlister and his Dark Blues team-mates using the predictions as motivation to show the prophets of doom that they should be looking elsewhere for the top flight’s bottom side at the end of the campaign.
If their hard-fought point on the opening day of the season at Kilmarnock is a yardstick, the club who came up as ”club 12” won’t be going down with the same tag.
The former Hamilton man said: ”By reading the newspapers this morning we could see that a lot of people are tipping us for the drop.
”I suppose it’s fair enough because the club only found out a couple of weeks ago that it was going to be playing in the SPL, and it’s a short space of time to put a squad together for this league.
”But there’s a real togetherness to prove a lot of people wrong. We’ve set a benchmark out there and we can’t drop below it.
”That has to be what we give every week, plus we’ve got to add a bit up front and score goals. Away points like this in the SPL are vital.
”It will be tough but we’ve got a squad of battlers who are desperate to do well. For a lot of the boys it’s their first taste of playing at this level.
”I’m sure the manager will bring in a few more before the window shuts but we’ve got a nucleus here already of players determined to succeed.”
McAlister hadn’t completed so much as a training session for Dundee before Saturday’s match.
”I was flung in at the deep end,” the 26-year-old admitted.
”I only played 45 minutes in the whole of pre-season and I didn’t meet my team-mates until at the hotel today at about half eleven.
”Fortunately, I’d played with a couple of them before – Kevin McBride and Mark Stewart – and I’d played against most of the rest over the years.
”I could see straight away that there’s a fantastic team spirit at the club. We dug in brilliantly and got a fantastic result.”
If McAlister was impressed with the camaraderie and desire in the Dundee dressing room, he was equally enthused by the backing the team got from the supporters who made their way to Ayrshire in their thousands.
He commented: ”I couldn’t believe the support, even though the manager had told us in the hotel that there would be a few thousand travelling down.
”It was absolutely unbelievable. In the last 10 to 15 minutes, when we were struggling a wee bit, you could hear them down the other end, taking us up the park.
”We don’t want to let them down. If we’re going to get backing away from home like that every second week it will help get us over the finishing line in games.”
McAlister, who chose not to stay with Hamilton at the end of last season, is one of the few in the Dundee team who does have SPL football on his CV. But it was an unfulfilling short, sharp shock.
”I feel I’ve got a bit of unfinished business at this level,” he pointed out. ”I didn’t think I got a fair crack of the whip with Hamilton in the SPL.
”It was nearly February when I got in the team but by that point we were as good as relegated. This time all I can ask for is a chance to prove myself, then it’s up to me.
”After last year, when I played virtually every position except goalkeeper and centre-half, I don’t have a clue what my best position is now.
”I really enjoyed playing full-back, which let me get up the park. But I’ll play anywhere.”
For a while during the close season it looked as if it would be England rather than the SPL that would be McAlister’s next calling.
He explained: ”I’d been down at Carlisle a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t really feel it was for me.
”I was supposed to go back down for a second week but I decided to turn my attention to here. Allan Moore let me train at Morton, which I was grateful for.
”It was just a case of waiting for the phone to ring. I’d played with the gaffer when he was on loan at Morton for a spell and as soon as he asked me I was happy to jump at the chance to come to Dundee.”
An opening day draw was fair on both sides.
Killie enjoyed more possession, particularly in the first half, but Dundee’s goal was never under siege at any stage and the few clear cut chances were shared out pretty equally between the teams.
If John Baird had brought his clinical finishing touch from the First Division to this match he would have given the Dark Blues the lead in 14 minutes after he stole possession off Liam Kelly on the edge of the box and shot over with only Cammy Bell to beat.
The two debut men – McAlister and Mark Stewart – both could have made themselves instant heroes.
McAlister tried to take the ball round Bell on 32 minutes but the Scotland squad man was able to get enough of a touch to usher it away from the danger area.
With a few minutes left in the match Stewart drove in from the left but couldn’t find the target with his shot.
Rab Douglas had a few routine saves to make in the first half but he kept his best for stoppage time at the end of the 90 when he threw out a right hand to prevent an angled Rory McKenzie shot finding his bottom right corner.
It’s a scenario First Division strikers were well used to over the last couple of seasons, as McAlister recalled.
He said: ”Having played against Rab over the last couple of years I know how good he is. I think he gets better with age.
”The save he made at the end says it all about him. He’ll win us a lot of points this season I’m sure.”
Dundee boss Barry Smith had a lot to be proud about.
He stated: ”We’re happy to go away with a point. We’d have taken that before the game. The overall performance was a credit to the club, and the crowd were fantastic as well. They really helped the boys.”
Smith added: ”We don’t have strength in depth. You just need to look at my bench for this game. We’re looking to bring in guys who have played in the SPL so we can change like for like.
”Mark Stewart and Jim McAlister did well but I don’t want to single anyone out because it was a team performance. We were well organised and limited their chances.
”We’ll have to be more clinical but the boys will grow into that. They’ll get used to the standard of play in this league.”
Killie assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl reflected: ”We were a bit wasteful in the final third and we’re a bit disappointed overall.”