Some Photos From The Hamilton Game....

Neil McCann

Well that was a shock never seen this happening, a brave decision by the board. I seen Neil's interview last night and liked what he said. One thing for sure he knows what the club means to the fans. He was a good player and had a good career winning all the major cups in Scotland also winning 26 caps for Scotland.  Below is the statement from Dundee FC... 

Dundee Football Club is delighted to announce that Neil McCann has been appointed Interim Manager until the end of the 2016/17 season.

Neil enjoyed a successful playing career which both started and ended at Dens Park. He played North and South of the border winning all the major domestic trophies in Scotland.

The new Interim boss holds his UEFA Pro Licence and has coaching experience from his time at Dunfermline, he has also has obtained a great knowledge and experience of the game and the current Dens squad through his work with Sky Sports.

We’ll have more from Neil after this evening’s press conference.

My View

On Paul Hartley I think with the run of results the board had little choice but to make a change. It's a pity because we had some good times. Likely losing Greg Stewart and Kane Hemmings did not help , but the management team had time to plan for it.

Also too many players came in and did very little either not good enough or they were given little chance to shine. Also with games I seen the tactics were not spot on and we were not able to change games when we went behind.

Anyway time to move on and I wish Paul Hartley all the best for the future I think he was a hard working  guy and some club will get a good manager in time.

Paul Hartley

Below is the statement from Dundee FC regarding Paul Hartley:

Dundee Football Club have this afternoon relieved manager Paul Hartley of his duties. 

Paul took charge of the club in February 2014. He took the club to the SPFL Championship title before clinching a top six finish in our first season back in the top flight.

Last season after missing out on the top six on the final day, the club went on to finish 8th in the top division.

The club currently sit 11th in the Premiership table and the Board of Directors feel a change is needed ahead of five vital matches between now and the end of the season.

Managing Director John Nelms is currently addressing the players and staff and the club will release a further update shortly.

John Nelms said, “I want to thank Paul for his time with the club. Unfortunately, the business we are in, sometimes change is necessary to achieve the goals we have set. I think somebody in the near future is going to get a good hard working manager.”

Below is Paul Hartley's statement :

Dundee 0, Hamilton Accies 2, Dens Park, Ladbrokes Premiership, 15-April-17

Dundee's poor home record continued at home against bottom six rivals Hamilton where the visitors ran out 2-0 winners in a pretty poor game. Dundee made two changes. Faissal El Bakhtaoui and Craig Wighton started, with Henrik Ojamaa and Mark O’Hara moving onto the bench.

They started okay and were unlucky in a couple of attacks with Haber and Bakhtaoui going close, as most teams this season Hamilton looked dangerous on the break and took the lead after 31 minutes with a penalty when a clumsy challenge from Hateley gave the Referee a easy decision,  D’Acol  scored with ease to give Accies the vital first goal. Dundee did play okay in the first half but lack the cutting edge in the final third. 

Second half was pretty poor and the loss of Cammy Kerr due to a shocking tackle on the young player which in my view should have been a red card. It did not help the team as they struggled to keep and pass the ball.  

Hamilton sealed the points when a cross into the Dundee six yard box was totally not defended well  enough and Devlin headed home with ease. Poor goal to lose and it has happened so often this season.

Dundee have 5 games to save our League Status and at the moment it does not look good.

Dundee: Bain,  Higgins, O’Dea, Holt,  Hateley, Vincent (O’Hara 66), McGowan, Kerr (Ojamaa 69)
El Bakhtaoui, Haber, Wighton. Unused Subs: Mitchell, Ross, Gadzhalov, Gomis, Smith.

Att: 6,489.

Ref: John Beaton.

Marc Klok leaves Dens....

Dundee Football Club can confirm that Marc Klok has left the club by mutual consent. Marc signed in January and made two appearances for the club against Inverness Caley Thistle and Kilmarnock.

The club would like to thank Marc for his efforts and wish him all the best for the future.

My view is he was either not good enough  or was not fit enough to play more games than he done. Another strange signing for the club.

Hearts 1, Dundee 0, Tynecastle Stadium, Ladbrokes Premiership, 08-April-17

Dundee fell to their seventh defeat in a row as Hearts ran out winners by 1 goal to nil in what was a scrappy game. Dundee made two changes Daniel Higgins made his first team debut, with Tom Hateley coming in for the suspended Danny Williams who had been sent off at Dingwall in the final minute. Kevin Gomis dropped to the bench.

Hearts took the lead after 13 minutes when sloppy play from Dundee allowed Cowie to find  Goncalves who skipped past McGowan and slot the ball home despite the best efforts of O'Dea on the line to keep it out.

Dundee came close when a Hateley freekick was touched onto the post by the Hearts keeper, and down the other end Scott Bain had a couple of decent stops to keep Hearts from extending their lead.

Much the same vein in  the second half and Dundee had a great chance when slack play from the Hearts defence let Craig Wighton through on goal but the young striker scuffed his shot wide and the chance was going.

Hearts likely deserved the win in what was a scrappy game with few chances for both sides.

Dundee now have six Cup Finals where they need  to get points if they are going to stay in the league. Starting with Hamilton at Dens next Saturday.

Dundee: Bain,  Higgins, O’Dea, Holt,  Hateley, O’Hara, Vincent, McGowan, Kerr,  Ojamaa (Wighton 58), Haber. Unused Subs: Mitchell, Ross, Dryden, Ian Smith, Kevin Gomis.

Att: 16,304

Ref: C Allan

Ross County 2, Dundee 1, Gobal Energy Stadium, Ladbrokes Premiership, 04-April-17

Dundee lost 2-1 to Ross County on Tuesday after coming back from the set back of being a goal down after 6 minutes when Tim Chow put the home side ahead. Manager Paul Hartley made three  changes to the side that lost to Aberdeen. In Marcus Haber, Danny Williams and Henrik Ojamaa.  Tom Hateley and Nick Ross dropped onto the bench and Faissal El Bakhtaoui was injured.

Going by reports County were slightly the better side , but Dundee drew level just on half-time when Ojamaa was pushed in the box and Darren O'Dea scored from the spot.

Second half and both team struggled to play any decent football, but it was County who grabbed the points when they got a last minute penalty it looked a bit soft but sadly for the dark blues Boyce scored from the kick.

Dundee: Bain, Gomis, O’Dea, Holt,  Kerr, O’Hara, Vincent, McGowan, Williams,  Ojamaa (Wighton 61), Haber. Unused Subs: Mitchell, Hateley, Ross, Klok, Higgins.

Att: 2,819

Ref: J Beaton

Dundee 0, Aberdeen 7, Dens Park, Ladbrokes Premiership, 31-March-17

Dundee were hammered by Aberdeen on Friday night going down by a score line of 7 goals to nil. Manager Paul Hartley went with one forward upfront, Marcus Haber was injured and Henrik Ojamaa was left on the bench after returning from international duty with Estonia. Nick Ross and Faissal El Bakhtaoui started in their place.

Dundee did start alright but as soon as The Dons scored their first goal on 16 minutes the whole team struggled to get to grips with a fast flowing Aberdeen side who went on to score three more goals before halftime, many Dundee fans were gone at half-time.

Just five minutes into the second half and it was 5-0 another poor goal to lose and at least Dundee had a shot at goals with efforts from El Bakhtaoui and Ojamaa who had come on at half-time. Sadly for the Dark Blues the dons went on to score twice more before the final whistle.

I stayed to the end and was totally shell shocked to have seen this big defeat, the team have been poor for a lot of games this season , so I can only hope that they find the fighting spirit needed to stay in the league. It will come down to what Dundee do and it will be a massive game at Dingwall this coming midweek.

I will miss the game due to work but will be able to see eight out of the last nine games. I will back my team during this and the players must step up to the challenge ahead.

Dundee: Bain, Kerr, O’Dea (c), Gomis, Holt,  Hateley (Ojamaa at half time), McGowan,  O’Hara, Vincent, Ross (Wighton at half time),  El Bakhtaoui. Unused Subs: Mitchell, Williams, Klok, Higgins.

Att: 7,314

Ref: A Muir