After another seesaw month for Dundee FC it’s all going to come down to the final four fixtures in the bottom six of the SPFL to determine whether the Club can retain its top flight status or face a play-off.
The heartbreaking home defeat to Rangers was followed by a gritty win against a physical St Mirren side and then a disappointing heavy defeat by Hibs at Easter Road. Once again the team bounced back with a gritty away win against Hearts. While there have been some excellent performances throughout the team and times when they have looked anything but relegation fodder, now is the time when they have to learn how to back up a win.
Even now at the absolute crux of the season it’s hard to know which version of Dundee will turn up: the team with the ability, pace and tempo to overrun Rangers at times at Dens, the team that can keep a clean sheet at Tynecastle or the team which didn’t really turn up at Easter Road. The former performances speak to a top six team that could be challenging for a European place. The latter…well…let’s not go there. Ultimately, for a team with such an outstanding scoring record to be only two points clear of second bottom is quite incredible and we have to hope that the ability to get goals will give them the edge they need to avoid the play-off spot and stay up.
It feels as if the fixture computer hasn’t exactly been kind to Dundee all season (see, for example, a run of matches of Celtic, Rangers, Hearts and Celtic in January/February), and the post-split fixtures have continued that pattern. Starting at Tynecastle was probably the toughest fixture and the first of three away games, with home matches against Motherwell and Ross County sandwiched in between, culminating in a potentially seismic match at Perth on 18 May. We have heard many different cliches to describe vital matches already this season but suffice it to say that if ever we needed the Club to string together another two or three victories this is the time. All at Dee4Life wish Tony and the players the very best for the next few weeks in what is undoubtedly a crucial period for the Club.
New stadium
There has been a lot going on off the field as well. The news that the new stadium project is still in limbo due to issues between the Club and Transport Scotland was disappointing. We know many fans share John Nelms’ impatience to get things moving and that there has been some frustration vented in the direction of the public bodies. That’s understandable to some extent but clearly a project of this size has to be workable and feasible for all concerned. We continue to encourage Mr Nelms and the lub to do all that they can to move the project forward and to work with the various stakeholders involved to bring about as swift a resolution as possible.
Dave Forbes
I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Dave Forbes who passed away last month. Dave was a longstanding member of the D4L Board and made a huge contribution to the running of the organisation over many years. He was a former Director of the Club and served as Chairman of the Associate Board. Dave was well known to many fans and was a hugely popular figure who was one of the most ardent followers of the Dees you could ever hope to meet. On behalf of the current Board I would just like to record our sincere appreciation to Dave for all that he did to further the causes of the Club and D4L and for being a valued friend to so many of us. Our thoughts are very much with his family at this sad time.
I will close by reminding everyone of the role played by John Burke as the Supporters Liaison Officer (SLO) for Dundee FC. John is extremely helpful and plays an important role in raising any operational issues which arise with the Club on behalf of the fans.
We at D4L appreciate John’s continuing assistance and look forward to continuing to work with him in future. John can be contacted at slo@dundeefc.co.uk.
Best wishes,
Keith Winter
Dee4Life Chair
Dee4Life 