Dundee After Paul Ritchie

Dundee will know in the next few days whether or not they are to add another former Dundee United man to their squad for next season. Former Tangerines Danny Griffin, David Worrell and Craig Samson are already on the books and could be joined by experienced defender Paul Ritchie before the week is out. The 31-year-old, whose other clubs have included Hearts, Rangers and Manchester City, has been in discussions with boss Alex Rae about a player-coaching role with the Dark Blues. He is also considering other offers from this country and abroad, but Dundee hope the lure of getting his first formal coaching position could persuade him to head for Dens.
Gary Smith Leaves
A Ritchie arrival would fill the gap left by the departure of veteran centre-half Gary Smith, who last night secured his release from the Dark Blues. The 36-year-old has been linked with a player-coaching role under former Scotland star Colin Hendry at Clyde, though, even if he moves to Broadwood, there is a chance he will hang up his boots

Pre-Season For Dundee Starts Now.....................

There were plenty of fresh faces on view as Dundee kicked off pre-season training today with a tough double session. Goalkeeper Craig Samson was with the squad as he signed the one-year deal agreed with boss Alex Rae at the end of last week, and also meeting their team-mates for the first time were summer signings David Worrell and David O’Brien.
And, as expected, a midfielder and a centre forward from the Czech Republic began trial spells with the Dark Blues. That, and the fact his entire squad were free of injury as they reported back after the summer break, made the manager a happy man.

Dundee Sign Craig Samson.

Dundee are set to complete the signing of goalkeeper Craig Samson in time for him to report for pre-season training with the rest of the squad at Dens Park on Monday. The former Kilmarnock, Dundee United and Ross County man has agreed a one-year deal and should put pen to paper over the weekend. Boss Alex Rae had several options to consider and has opted for the 23-year-old because, he believes, he will provide a strong challenge to Ludovic Roy for the No. 1 jersey next term. “As I’ve said all along, Ludo had a great first year with us and he will start pre-season as No. 1, but I want competition for as many places as possible and Samson should provide that,” said Rae. “He’s still young, but he has good experience and is ambitious. He won’t be coming here thinking he’ll be sitting on the bench, he’ll be fighting for his place and that’s what I want.” Samson joins full-back David Worrell and wide man David O’Brien as new summer arrivals and they are likely to be joined by at least another two signings in the next few weeks.

Norwich Bid For Dixon Turned Down...........

Dundee have rejected an offer from Norwich City for Paul Dixon — but the Dark Blues face a battle to keep their highly-rated full-back this summer. The 20-year-old is well known to Carrow Road assistant boss Jim Duffy, who handed him his debut during his second spell as manager at Dens Park. He and Canaries gaffer Peter Grant are among those who have been monitoring Dixon’s progress and that has led to a bid to take him to the Championship.

That move was confirmed by Dundee chief executive Dave MacKinnon and, while he was quick to stress it had been dismissed, there is no question the club face a struggle to hang on to the defender. For their part, Norwich admitted it was unlikely there would be an immediate upping of the bid, believed to be in the region of £100,000 — less than half his employers’ valuation.

A string of other English clubs are also interested and there have even been suggestions that, here in Scotland, Rangers are also admirers. More attempts to lure him away from the City of Discovery are set to follow. Dixon has only a year of his current Dens deal to run and has stalled on signing an extension. Which might push Dundee towards selling him if offers come in now, rather than face losing him a reduced fee near to or at the end of his contract.

Dundee Sign Two and Plan For Next Season.........

Dundee have completed the signings of former Rotherham United full-back David Worrell and David O'Brien, the winger having left Stirling Albion. Worrell and O'Brien were out of contract and are the first of six summer signings planned by Dundee. O'Brien, 23, leaves after helping Stirling win promotion to Division One. First Division Dundee have also confirmed that manager Alex Rae will receive an increased budget for next season. But chairman Bob Brannan has stressed to the Tayside business community that further cash will have to be raised to balance the budget. Chief executive Dave MacKinnon pointed out that the club is considering developing land for housing. Dundee are looking at developing the Dens Park side of their stadium "with a new South Stand as part of the development". MacKinnon has held initial discussions with a building developer.

Latest From Dens.

Dundee will parade two unnamed signings on Wednesday and promise four other new faces this summer. The First Division club also confirmed that manager Alex Rae would receive an increased budget for next season. But chairman Bob Brannan has stressed to the Tayside business community that further cash will have to be raised to balance the budget. Chief executive Dave MacKinnon pointed out that the club is considering developing land for housing.
Dundee are looking at developing the Dens Park side of their stadium "with a new South Stand as part of the development". MacKinnon has held initial discussions with a building developer.

Latest News From Dens Park.

Dundee have announced details of a further three pre-season friendlies. After welcoming Millwall to Dens Park on Saturday, July 14, the Dark Blues travel to Montrose on Tuesday 17th, host Motherwell on Tuesday 24th and are at Stenhousemuir on the 25th. They are still attempting to fix up home matches on the 21st and 28th against English opposition. And Dundee will either be heading for the Highlands or north-east England for a short training camp early on in the process of building towards next term. Player-manager Alex Rae hopes to unveil an addition to his squad later this week.

Clear Out Starts At Dens.

Dundee have started building for next season by telling Ross Harris and Craig Higgins they will not be offered new contracts at Dens Park. And manager Alex Rae will not bid to keep on-loan trio Jay Shields, Kevin Smith and Robert Campbell at the club. A bounce game was held as well and rumours say that Nathan Lownes impressed and he might get an offer.

Clyde 1 Dundee 1, Broadwood Stadium, 28/April/07.

Clyde and Dundee drew 1-1 at sunny Broadwood on Saturday, and with only the main stand open a few Dundee fans missed the kick-off. We started brightly and Brian Clark missed the target after a great move. But he scored a cracker from the edge of the box withe a great low drive. As we tried to finish the game off Alex Williams shot home to level things up at halftime. The second half was pretty end of the season fair and the only down point was Derek Lyle's dismissal. The striker received a straight red card 14 minutes from time for a tackle on Robert Harris and then appearing to stamp on the defender on the ground. Well l never saw that! So that's it for another season and it was a improvement from last year, hopefully we can bring in the six players we need to make a challenge next season.

Latest From Dens.

Friday: Dundee are to allow frontman Craig O’Reilly to leave Dens Park.The 19-year-old former Raith Rovers striker, who has a year left on his contract, has spent the season on loan to East Fife. Craig is available for a nominal fee,and lower division clubs have been notified.Dundee will be without suspended defender Gary Smith for tomorrow’s final game of the campaign at Clyde but that opens the door for skipper Gary McKenzie to return. Also set for a place in the starting line-up, after completing his one-match ban, is Alex Rae.Meanwhile, former Dundee United keeper Tony Bullock has emerged as a possible signing target for the Dark Blues as they seek someone to challenge Ludovic Roy for the first-team jersey next term.
Wednesday: Good news for Dundee as goalkeeper Ludovic Roy signed a new two-year deal, also committing his future to Dens Park was young midfielder Brian Clark.Manager Alex Rae is also hopeful of adding a few more players for next season, and has arranged for a trial game to take place later this week.The club also revealed season ticket prices for 2007-08 which are:Adult season tickets for existing holders are £240 if bought before 30th June 2007. Senior citizen tickets are £115, Under 18s £90, under 12s £18 and students £94On or after 1st July 2007 Adult season tickets are £250. Senior citizen tickets are £120, Under 18s £95, under 12s £18 and students £99.If you want to retain your existing seat then you should renew before 30th June.Tickets go on sale on Tuesday May 1st 2007.

Dundee 1 Hamilton 0, Dens Park, 21/April/07

Dundee struggled to overcome Hamilton on Saturday but at least we won the game thanks to a controversial penalty converted by Derek Lyle earned Dundee a narrow victory over Hamilton at Dens Park. The pivotal moment came on 62 minutes when referee Crawford Allen ignored Bob Davidson's shove on Alex Neil to allow him to cross. In the scramble that followed David Elebert pulled Kevin McDonald to the ground and Lyle scored from the spot. Dundee defender Gary Smith was later dismissed for an off-the-ball incident involving David Elebert.It was good to see youngster Brian Clark make his first start for the club and he was unlucky not to score in the second half.At least it still gives us a chance to finish third but we need to beat Clyde and hope Hamilton don't win.

Latest News From Dens.

Dundee have received a major fitness boost with the news that midfielder Paul McHale has not torn the medial ligament in his knee. McHale strained the joint in training last week and will still be out for the remaining two games of the season. It means he will be out for a matter of weeks rather than months, and should be fit for the start of preseason training. Dundee will be without player-manger Alex Rae following his dimissal at Partick Thistle last weekend. Dyron Daal has resumed training and, if he does not suffer any reaction to his knee problem, the on-loan striker will feature for the home side. Hamilton go to Dens Park clash knowing that a draw will secure third place in the First Division. Dundee have also slashed admission prices for children to just £1 as a thank you to the fans for their support.

Partick Thistle 2 Dundee 1, Firhill, 14/April/07.

Partick secured their First Division status with a narrow win over 10-man Dundee who had player-coach Alex Rae sent off in the 90th minute. The Jags went in front after 17 minutes when Adam Strachan crashed the ball high into the net from 10 yards. Dundee levelled five minutes later when Derek Lyle scored his 14th goal of the season. The Jags got the winner after 53 minutes when Derek Young fired low past Ludovic Roy.

Injury Blow For McHale.

Dundee midfielder Paul McHale could be facing months on the injury list, with fears that he may have suffered medial ligament damage in his knee. What at first seemed a run-of-the-mill training incident has resulted in a serious problem for the player, who has been a key man for the Dark Blues since joining in January. McHale will be sent to see a specialist next week to discover the extent of the damage, and manager Alex Rae is hoping for a positive outcome. Meanwhile Danny Griffin should play at centre half again, he looked a much better player last week. It will be a tough game against Partick Thistle who are not safe from the drop yet.

Daal Goal Rush Won't Earn Him Dons Deal

Dyron Daal has been told his five goals in four games for Dundee are not enough to guarantee his Aberdeen future. The Dutchman was sent out on loan to Dens Park after struggling to break into the Dons side.He netted twice against Ross County at the weekend to clinch a 3-2 win for the Tayside team and has also produced a match-winning double against Airdrie United the previous weekend having scored on his debut for the Dark Blues against Queen of the South.Jimmy Calderwood is monitoring the 23-year-old striker's contribution to the Dundee cause, but is refusing to get carried away on the back of his player's goal rush.He said: "Obviously I'm getting reports on Dyron's performances and it is great to see him scoring goals for Dundee. We've had positive reports, but seemingly he could have scored 12 goals, never mind five, with the number of chances he has had."As far as next season is concerned, I haven't been able to give Dyron's situation a minute's thought."We have to get our own business out of the way in the SPL before we move on to that."Of course we have to be fair to the player and can't keep him hanging on forever."He has three games to go with Dundee between now and the end of the season and by then we will have to let him know what our plans for him are.
Team News For Firhill.
Paul McHale picked up a knee injury in training yesterday and is struggling to face Partick Thistle. Time will tell if he makes it or not. Gary McKenzie will miss the game due to suspension.

Dundee 3 Ross County 2, Dens Park, 07/April/07.

Paul Dixon returned to the side, and Danny Griffin played center half in place of injured Gary McKenzie. We started well and Dyron Daal scored a double as Dundee sent Ross County tumbling to the foot of the First Division table. Daal raced through to convert after 20 minutes and doubled his tally 12 minutes later when he robbed defender Andy Dowie and executed a neat finish. Sean Higgins hit back with a glorious overhead kick, only for Paul McHale to restore Dundee's two-goal advantage with an 18-yard strike.Dundee held on for the final 16 minutes when Michael Gardyne fired home. A good three points for us, pity the second half was not as good as the first.

LATE NEWS.

Dundee are set to play Millwall at Dens on the 15th of July. I'm on holiday so will miss that one.

Latest News From Dens.

Dundee could add another foreign keeper to their books after a Slovakian trialist impressed boss Alex Rae in a closed-door game this week. The experienced performer, who the Dark Blues are not naming for the time being, did enough in the friendly against Montrose to be added to the list of possibles for next season. Not still interesting him, though, is the English midfielder who had been with Norwich and who also got a game on Tuesday. And Dundee are adopting a “wait-and-see” policy with loan striker Dyron Daal. The Dutchman’s three goals in three games since he started his loan from Aberdeen have seen the Dons hint they will probably be offering him a deal for next season after his amateur contract with them expires in the summer. There has been no concrete offer from Pittodrie, though, and the Dens men believe they still have a chance of landing the big man on a permanent deal if he continues to impress. There are no injury worries for Saturday’s home clash with struggling Ross County. Aberdeen's Jamie Winter is also on trial for a few days. (Picture Above)

Dundee 2 Airdrie 1, Dens Park, 01/April/07

Dundee put behind them a desperate first-half performance to notch their first win in four games, to say the Dark Blues were awful in the opening 45 minutes would be an understatement.But they improved sufficiently to edge out spirited Airdrie in an end-to-end second period.Dundee claimed the spoils thanks to Dyron Daal—who had enough clear-cut chances to have mustered a five-goal haul—netting twice.While that was rough on the relegation-threatened Diamonds, whose showing was worthy of the point that would have left them shy of the play-off spot only on goal difference.Airdrie’s 17th minute opener was a personal disaster for Gary McKenzie. The Dens skipper was caught in possession 25 yards out by Ian Harty and failed to react to the situation, leaving Harty to bear down on Ludovic Roy and net with a composed finish.Taking the lead was no more than the Diamonds deserved. Before netting, Harty had brought a decent save out of Ludovic Roy and David Proctor was thwarted by a timely McKenzie challenge.And they could easily have stretched that advantage with Roy having to claw a Gary Twigg shot round his post.Dundee levelled on 27 minutes, completely against the run of play, when Daal headed home Rae’s cross.Airdrie remained on top, though, and both Harty and Graeme Holmes should have done far better than blaze the ball over from terrific positions.In the early stages of the second half Stuart Taylor evaded the attentions of McKenzie to meet a Steven McDougall cross, but from a tight angle couldn’t put his header away from Roy.Dundee had an opportunity to steal a lead shortly after that when Daal found himself clean through, but he shot straight at Stephen Robertson.McKenzie’s day very nearly went from bad to worse when a Holmes cut-back rebounded off him and was destined to find his own net until Roy came to the rescue.On 56 minutes Dundee edged in front from their first corner of the game, Bob Davidson heading Gavin Swankie’s delivery back across goal for Daal to nod in.And the Dutchman could easily have added to his tally—completely missing the ball after a Smyth mistake allowed Gates’ cross to find him unmarked, then once again shooting straight at Robertson.Airdrie, who’d been denied a penalty when Gary Smith clearly shoved Taylor inside the area, had become decidedly fragile at the back.Going forward, though, they remained a real threat. Substitute Stephen McKeown might have levelled after being picked out by Twigg, but his finish failed to trouble Roy.A Twigg effort with 11 minutes remaining did test the goalie, but he responded by making a terrific save. Despite his side laying siege to the home goal in the closing minutes and being harshly treated by the outcome, Diamonds manager Kenny Black felt the defeat had been largely self-inflicted.Daal and Paul McHale were booked along with Airdrie’s Smyth, Taylor and Neil McGowan. A good three point for us but we made hard work of it. Lets hope we can win the last four game to set up next season.

Dundee Set To Sign Winger.

Dundee are poised to add Stirling Albion winger David O’Brien to their squad. The move is believed to have been agreed and O’Brien should make the switch to Dens in the summer.The left-sided 23-year-old has made over 180 appearances for the Forthbank club since coming through their youth system in season 2001-02.While not commenting directly on the O’Brien interest, Dens manager Alex Rae did reiterate he is desperate to add to his squad in preparation for the 2007-08 campaign.“We need a few new bodies—there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

St.Johnstone 2 Dundee 0, McDiarmid Park, 25/03/07

Dundee played some football in the first half, but the midfield just laid too deep.St Johnstone closed the gap on First Division leaders Gretna to four points with victory over Dundee.The hosts came to life after a lacklustre first half and Jason Scotland fired the opener after a neat turn inside the box. Martin Hardie extended the lead in the 61st minute, latching on to Peter MacDonald's flick-on, blasting his shot into the roof of the net. Despite losing Kevin James to a head injury, Saints held on for the win.Dundee got Paul Dixon sent off in the second half, we were very poor in the second half and it was a good job Ludovic Roy was in good form in the goals.