Well, it has been a pretty eventful week around Dundee.
From progressing to the last eight of the Scottish Cup in emphatic fashion to Gary Harkins ruffling some feathers down Govan Way.
First off, I will speak about the League game against Kilmarnock which ended goalless.
It was a game that both teams had to win and even though I thought Dundee might have felt they had done enough to come out as the victor, Kilmarnock showed that they were not the same team we faced on the opening day of the season and could have claimed the three points for themselves.
This was a great opportunity to create a gap between us and a few other teams. With Inverness losing at Celtic we could have opened a comfortable four point gap but this is something I will touch on later on.
Next up is the fine victory over Dumbarton last night. I predicted an easy win for the Dee in the first match which of course never went to plan but that still did not stop me making another bold prediction that we would win the replay comfortably.
Thankfully, my team were able to do so along with a good goal scoring display. The 5-0 win sets us up for a quarter final tie against Glasgow Rangers at Ibrox which is sure to be a tasty affair.
Despite Dumbarton being a league behind us, the display from the team was of a high standard and we are really seeing the team click which is only good news as we venture into the last seven games before the split and a huge cup game.
We welcome our bogey team Inverness to Dens this weekend and this game could have a huge saying on who finishes in the top six. I mentioned that we could have moved four points ahead of Caley but now we are in position to move five clear if we can do something we have failed to do on multiple occasions, beat them!
I have touched on the statistics between us and them so many times that I am actually getting fed up of counting the days we have failed to defeat them so I am going to save you all the despair, and myself, by not mentioning it.
Every week people have spoken about how close the league table is and every week people have said that teams will pull away but for some reason this has not happened in the Scottish Premiership. Just eight points separates Ross County in fourth and Kilmarnock in eleventh and I am being honest when I say I have not seen it this close before.
It does make for some good viewing for the neutrals but for someone that supports a team right in the middle of it, I hate it!
I have said all season that we would not be in any relegation fight and that has become true thanks to Dundee United’s shambolic showing so far but sometimes I do worry that we will get sucked into a play off fight. It is not like we are losing games either because the teams below us are all picking up points when you least expect them.
This is what makes the game with Caley this weekend so important to me as it is taking care of a top six rival but also it could be opening up a potential eight or nine point gap on some teams if they fail to get any points on board.
Moving away from the pitch, our captain Gary Harkins managed to upset some Teddy Bears in Glasgow with his comments in a recent interview. When asked about the potential cup clash against Rangers, he replied;
They are just a new club. I have not played them before, so I am looking forward to it.
His comments caused a bit of a stir but he has come out saying it was ‘just a wee joke’ which I believe as he has a reputation as a wind up merchant. It is safe to say that he caught a good few people hook, line and sinker while causing a few meltdowns on the way.
Until next time.
MON THE DEE!
