When you're a Saints fan there are no easy games. Every cup tie against lower league opposition is a potential banana skin, as we have found to our cost numerous times. So while there is no good time to take on a newly promoted side, visiting them for their first game since returning to the top flight is probably one of the worst times to face Dundee. They've been away from the SPL for seven years and having finally returned, so their players and fans will be well up for this one.
It is somewhat ironic that Dundee were the team chosen to fill the hole created by the demise of Rangers as the Dens Park side haven't exactly been short of money worries themselves in recent years. The only Scottish club in recent times to go into administration twice, they were docked 25 points a couple of years ago as punishment. Somehow they overcame those odds, as well as losing some of their players and manager, to stay in the first division before finishing second last year, which eventually proved to be enough for promotion. The unexpected elevation to the top flight will make the supporters even more determined to enjoy it.
Saints will be aiming to be party poopers tomorrow and ensure Dundee's first SPL home game since 2005 ends in defeat. We will need to make great improvements from last week if we are to return from Tayside with anything and we really need to be looking for a win if we are serious about the top six. The fixture list was relatively kind to us for the first few weeks of the season and failing to win either of our first two games would make things extremely difficult for us.
It had looked as if Jim Goodwin would be back tomorrow, but it seems he is banned for two games and nobody realised. At least we found out before the game! We really missed his presence in the middle of the park last week so not having him back is a blow. Fortunately Steven Thompson and Marc McAusland are available again, although Lewis Guy is suspended after last week's red card. Thompson will almost certainly start in his placealthough that could mean Sam Parkin doesn't start as it wouldn't exactly be the most mobile of strike partnerships. Personally I'd keep have them both in the team so we at least have a proper front two in a game we should be looking to win.
McAusland, meanwhile, will probably have to make do with a slot on the bench with the partnership of goalscorer Darren McGregor and ex Dee Lee Mair preferred in defence. Craig Samson is another ex Dundee man although Paul Mathers won't be on the bench as a sub for the game against his former club now that Chris Smith has returned to take the place of the injured Grant Adam. Graham Carey could join him on the bench, although he is unlikely to start.
With Dundee's promotion to the SPL only being confirmed a couple of weeks before the season began nearly everybody has said they'll go straight back down to the first division. Those predictions will almost certainly have everyone at Dens Park fired up to prove them wrong and ensure their return to the top flight is not a temporary one. I mentioned earlier how they overcame a 25 point penalty and Barry Smith and his players probably see staying in the SPL as a rather easier target - after all they start off on the same number of points as everyone else!
Making things difficult for Saints tomorrow will be the fact Dundee have three former Buddies who all struggled to force themselves into the first team during their time in Paisley. John Baird and Stephen O'Donnell were in and out of the team while at the club, while Jamie McCluskey was barely in it before he as good as finished things with his disgraceful antics for the Sky TV cameras in the dressing room. All three will almost certainly be looking to prove a point, especially captain O'Donnell who was let go by Lennon shortly after he was appointed manager.
Other players will be keen to prove a point as well. Gary Irvine and Ryan Conroy were binned by Celtic earlier in their careers but are still decent players while defender Neil McGregor is another one let go by an SPL club - this time Kilmarnock - who has had to wait for another crack at the top flight. Nicky Riley is highly rated, with Saints supposedly interested in him during the summer months, and I've also heard good things about Kyle Benedictus - although that could just be because he stands out in Football Manager due to his cool name.
I'm probably not the only person who didn't expect to see Rab Douglas back in the SPL. The veteran goalie is now in his second spell at Dens Park after returning in 2008 following spells at Celtic and down south. He is still the regular keeper and kept a clean sheet against Kilmarnock last week, making some good saves a long way. He will almost certainly play a huge part in Dundee's attempts to beat the drop and seems to be enjoying an Indian summer in his career. Hopefully one of our players can find a way past him and ensure he doesn't start his return to the SPL with two successive clean sheets.
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