Only one thing has surprised me about the Dens Park pitch fiasco over these last few days.
And it certainly wasn’t when their game against Rangers was called off for a second time on Wednesday afternoon. Like everyone else who watched Don Robertson’s 11am inspection live on Sky Sports News, I could see that coming from a mile off. No, what I find absolutely shocking is that here we all are, on Saturday morning, waiting for this farce to happen all over again next week.
I’m no Sean Batty but I have the same weather app on my phone as most folk do these days and it’s telling me more rain is heading for Tayside over the course of the next few days. And unless there’s some kind of miracle, it’s going to come down on a pitch that can’t handle another drop of the stuff.
So can someone please explain to me why the rest of us have been left to sit and hope somehow that surface might be playable the next time a referee is sent to give it the once over? Yes, according to Philippe Clement, a decision will be made on Tuesday. But why wait that long? We’re dealing with a playing surface which simply cannot be trusted and I’m afraid to say Dundee no longer deserve the chance to patch it up with running repairs.
That horse has bolted. The pitch is a shambles and it should not have been given the all-clear for Motherwell’s match up there last weekend. So the decision should be taken out of the hands of the clubs and a new venue should already have been nailed down and announced for Wednesday night.
At least that way both managers, both teams and both sets of fans would have a bit of certainty to allow them to prepare in advance. Let’s not forget, Rangers also have a Scottish Cup semi final to get ready for the following Sunday.
But it looks more likely that everyone will be keeping their fingers crossed again until Tuesday afternoon while knowing deep down that, even if the officials do say the game might be able to go ahead, the playing surface won’t be anywhere close to fit for purpose anyway.
It really is a ridiculous situation and an embarrassing one for Scottish football. The rest of the UK is laughing at the state of our top league again and that’s a real boot in the balls given the hugely positive reaction to last week’s Old Firm game.
More than 1.4million people all over Britain watched that drama unfold, as I did from a seat in the main stand. And, like me, they couldn’t take their eyes off it. Six goals, end to end, last- minute equaliser – it had everything going for it. And I truly believe the respect for Scottish football went up a couple of notches after that game.
So it was painful to watch the shambles that followed at the Scot Foam Stadium. It’s simply not good enough and it damages the reputation of the game in this country as a whole. So please, can someone tell me, why on earth would we allow Dundee to put us all through this embarrassment again next week? I have no axe to grind with Tony Docherty and his players. On the contrary, I feel for them too as they’re not to blame for the state of their park.
And they’ll have been as desperate to play as Rangers were the other night because they have a shot at reaching the top six which would be a helluva an achievement. They deserve better too. As do Hibs and Motherwell who are waiting and wondering what it means to their own chances of ending up in the top half of the table. Everyone deserves better than this.
But what I will admit, is that the very mention of Dens Park in the same sentence as Rangers and a title run-in does still send a shiver down my spine. It’s hard to believe it was 21 years ago when we went up there looking for three points to keep us ahead of Celtic at the top of the table – and ended up scraping a 2-2 draw with a late penalty from Mikel Arteta.
And yes, it pains me even now to recall I missed not once but twice from the spot in the same game. I still remember when we were awarded the third, with five minutes to go. I could feel some of the guys looking at me as if they were expecting me to take the ball. I was thinking to myself, ‘F****** look somewhere else by the way!’.
There was no way I was taking that one. Missing one is bad enough. But miss two and it’s time for someone else to step up. Luckily enough for me, Mikel was that man and when he slotted it home I felt this weird mixture of emotions. There was immense relief, of course there was. But I’ll never forget the bus journey back to Glasgow because my head was all over the shop, thinking I might just have blown it for everyone else.
That I might have f***** it all up for the team I captained and the team I supported. The guys on the bus tried to say all the right things – which I appreciated – but my head was gone. It was only when I got into my car after we arrived back at Auchenhowie that my mind began to clear and I started to refocus.
It was during the drive home I realised it was still there for us to win the league that season. It was still in our hands. even if Celtic did pull level on goal difference because of my penalty misses. Which they did. So I turned it into a positive by telling myself we simply had to win more games or score more goals than Celtic to win the title. We ended up pipping them to the title on the last day of that season by beating Dunfermline 6-1 at Ibrox while Celtic were winning 4-0 at Kilmarnock.
And, let me tell you, what a celebration we had after that! And that’s what should be driving Clement and his players on into the final stretch after last week’s Old Firm derby. Yes of course, they would have wanted to win it but they fought tooth and nail to make sure they didn’t lose it after not turning up for the entire first half.
Like me at Dens Park that day, they got out of jail with a point because they went flat out second half to turn it around.
That’s the way it has to be in every half of every game from now until the end of the season – the same intensity, desire, hunger and sheer will to win. If they can bring it all to the table in every single game – no matter what might go against them – then they might end up with plenty to celebrate for themselves.
