Paul Hartley has told his Dundee players to brace themselves for another testing 90 minutes against St Johnstone in the Premiership today. The Dark Blues welcome Tommy Wright's Saints side to Dens Park after earning a morale-boosting 2-2 draw against rivals Dundee United in Tuesday night's derby at Tannadice. Dundee fought out several close encounters with the Perth club last season and their manager is expecting nothing different this time around.
Hartley said: "It will be tough against St Johnstone. There is no doubt about that. We had a lot of close games last season. They had a hard game against Ross County on Tuesday and did well. Tommy Wright has done a great job there and they have been in the top-six for the last few seasons. It's a tough game but they all are, the league is tougher this season. It's going to be hard to get into the top-six but we'll give it our best shot."
Dundee battled back from 2-0 down to equalise in stoppage-time against United earlier in the week and Hartley reckons they should look on the positive side of their stirring comeback. He said: "There was a lot to be pleased about. The lads just never gave up so all credit to them. It was their spirit and desire which got us the draw on the night. That was the kind of game we would have lost last season. Now we have to take all that into the St Johnstone game." Dundee hope skipper Kevin Thomson can prove himself fit after coming off injured against United. Hartley, who otherwise has no fresh injury worries, said: "Kevin is feeling better and we need him as much as possible."
Tam Scobbie admits he has never met a character like St Johnstone team-mate Graham Cummins - but he quickly recognised the Irishman's talent for finding the net. Cummins has made himself a popular figure in the McDiarmid dressing room after an internet clip of him catching his eyelid in a zip went viral. The clip was viewed thousands of times but the former Preston and Exeter frontman has taken the ribbing from his Saints colleagues with good grace. However, it is his serious business of scoring goals that has impressed Scobbie after Cummins scored goals against Hearts, Inverness and Ross County on his first three outings for the Perth side.
Scobbie joked: "He is not right in the head. He thinks Mitre balls are called 'meetry' for a start. Then there was the thing with the zip. I don't know how you can get your eyelid stuck in a zip but he did it. He's a good guy though and always works hard in training. He likes a laugh with the boys too. He had been out for five or six weeks when he first joined us and found the training quite hard because we work at such an intense level. But he's benefiting from it now and doing really well. Not many people would have heard of him before he came here but he's got three in three and people are quickly taking notice of him now."
St Johnstone will hope to pick up their first Premiership win of the new season when they take on Dundee. Saints have endured a difficult start, losing a 4-3 thriller to Hearts on the opening day before fighting back to claim draws against the Highland duo. Scobbie, though, believes his team will come good, even if they do not always get the praise afforded to their rivals. He said: "In the three years since I've been at the club, not many people have taken much notice of how well St Johnstone have done. If you look at the finances of our budget, the players we have lost and the players we have had to bring in, I think the manager has done a great job. But we don't mind going under the radar, even when we are pushing for the top six."
St Johnstone manager Wright's injury concerns continue to ease. Skipper Dave Mackay was on the bench in midweek after recovering early from hip surgery but is in contention for a start at Dens Park. Chris Millar (pelvis) is also back in full training but David Wotherspoon needs to be assessed after picking up an ankle knock. Steven Anderson (broken eye socket) remains out.