Pressley's 12-month turnaround

What a difference a year can make, certainly in the case of Steven Pressley.

Wind back 12 months and he was a man very much up against it, having to win over a large proportion of the Dundee support who were, let’s say, sceptical about his surprise appointment as head coach.

Fast forward to now – he has not only won them over, but he is very much the flavour of the month.

As last season went on, he assembled a side that got better and better, in terms of results and style of football on their way to an eighth place Premiership finish.

Going in to this season, the question the Dark Blues faithful were asking was – can he build on that this time round?

A pertinent question given that he has again had to rebuild a squad which has lost a number of really key players during the summer.

Whisper it, but the answer to that question looks like it could well be yes.

His team have hit the ground running in the Premiership – they were narrowly beaten 1-0 at Celtic in their opening game, and followed that up by blowing Aberdeen away with as comfortable a 2-0 win at Dens Park as you are likely to see.

In both games his team have received a plethora of plaudits for the way they have played. In fact in the encounter with the Dons they could easily have scored a barrel load of goals.

Despite having less possession than the visitors on Saturday, Dundee had double the amount of shots Aberdeen did (18 compared to nine) and more of those were on target – seven for Dundee, three for the Dons. Dundee also narrowly outperformed their expected goals (xG) of 1.8.

The victory also became the ninth Premiership game in a row that Dundee have won after leading at half-time.

Even Pressley himself said it was “probably the proudest I’ve been after any Dundee performance since coming to this club”.

What strikes me, from watching his teams and speaking to the players, is that he has a group who have not only bought in to his football philosophy, but who would run through a brick wall for him. That has actually been clear from very early in his Dens Park tenure.

I said on multiple occasions last term that Dundee were the team I enjoyed going to watch more than any other – okay maybe Motherwell were the only exception to that. I found myself coming away having been thoroughly entertained whatever the result.

The brand of football is terrific – and more importantly it appears to now be a winning brand of football.

Dundee ended last season strongly, with victories in three of their last four Premiership matches. It is one win and a defeat so far in this campaign but if they keep performing the way they have been you do get a sense that it will be more of the former than the latter over the coming months.

You clearly notice a real feel-good factor about Dens Park these days and the positivity generated from what is being served up on the pitch is translating to the stands.

The Dundee fans have been through a lot over the last few decades so will rightly be riding this wave of optimism. Yes it is early days in the season, but the evidence would suggest it is a wave they could be riding for some time to come.

Having been “All Shook Up” when Pressley was appointed, it is now more a case of “If I Can Dream” for the Dark Blues faithful as they ponder how this campaign may play out.