If you had been used to playing your football under a burning hot Indian sky, making a return to the Scottish Premiership in a snow storm might have been an unwelcome shock to the system.
But Dundee newboy Darren O’Dea couldn’t have been happier in the Firhill freezer.
And the fact that he was part of a very impressive 4-2 win capped off a pretty near perfect debut.
“It’s good to be back in fantastic Scottish weather,” he said (without irony).
“The last time I would have played in conditions like that would have been in the Ukraine. It was worse than that at times.
“It was in the 30s in India (where O’Dea played in their Super League) but remember, I’m made for the cold! I’m not made for the sun or humidity.
“We had pre-season in Dubai and I nearly melted.
“It’s refreshing to be back in the cold.”
With Dundee three goals to the good going into the half-time break, there was a creeping possibility that heavy snow and covered lines would add a cruel twist to a frenetic half of football.
Thankfully the conditions eased during the interval and the second half, and the referee wasn’t forced into making a call that would have been hard to take for the Dens Park men.
“It did cross our minds that it might be in doubt,” O’Dea admitted. “It was tough conditions and credit to the ground staff for working tirelessly at half-time.
“When you’re three goals up and you see the snow coming down it’s a bit worrying, but it worked out OK.
“The referee would have needed security to get out if he’d called it off!”
Partick were the team coming into this game with the more eye-catching recent run of results only two defeats in 12 but you wouldn’t have known it.
The hosts were as sloppy at the back and in midfield as the visitors were dynamic in attack.
Dundee were three up in little over 15 minutes.
First Liam Lindsay kept backing off Gary Harkins and when he eventually made a challenge in the box it was a clumsy one, resulting in a trip and a penalty. Kane Hemmings scored from the spot to make it nine goals from nine games.
Harkins made no mistake when Thistle failed to deal with a free-kick into the penalty area and then Greg Stewart came up with one of his trademark goals, cutting in from the right and curling it home with his left.
Thistle were given hope through a David Amoo header but Harkins’ postage stamp 20-yarder before the break effectively ended the contest.
There was a last minute Thistle consolation but by this point Dundee had struck the woodwork twice and probably should have been more emphatic winners.
Harkins had a part to play in all four goals and O’Dea couldn’t fail to be impressed with his new team-mate and skipper.
He said: “I said to Gary ‘one thing’s for sure, you’re definitely not a training player’ because he’s been shocking in training all week!
“He’s fantastic. He was our best player by a bit.
“He’s got balance and the touch to be a number 10, but he’s also got the physical presence to be a number nine. That makes him very difficult to play against.
“He was great today, as were all our attacking players.”
O’Dea added: “We were on fire at the start.
“We handled the conditions better than them at the start.
“They’re a passing side and we knew how they would try to play. Our plan was to sit off and let them play. But you did that at your peril in those conditions.
“Every time we won the ball off them we looked like we would score.
“In the second half it was a case of making decisions about whether to go for another goal or just to keep possession. And I thought we were very professional in the second half.
“We defenders have to do our jobs because we know we’ve got enough players at the other end who can win us games. I thought we fully deserved the three points.”
Manager Hartley reflected: “Thistle were the form team but I thought some of our play was excellent. We scored goals at the right times.
“Our organisation and shape was good and 4-2 was a great result for us.
“When you’ve got Harkins, Hemmings and Stewart in your team you’re always going to create things. We just give them the freedom to go and play.”
And will Harkins have the captain’s armband for keeps?
“We’ll see how it goes,” Hartley said. “He’s our next most experienced player.
“It was a real captain’s performance today. He was outstanding. His ability was never in doubt. It’s just the other side that people have questioned. But you could see how hard he worked for the team today. I think he took the responsibility on well.
“He’s at the age where he has to take that responsibility.”