| The Dark Blues meet Dunfermline at home in the league on Sunday, have a midweek Scottish Cup game – and any subsequent replay – against Livingston, and a league trip to face QOS on Saturday week.
Naturally, that prospect hasn’t gone down too well at Dundee, who had offered their own thoughts on when the cup dates should be.
It’s also likely to prove a severe financial strain on most fans’ budgets, especially coming so soon after the festive period.
As they awaited official confirmation of exactly when the cup-tie would go ahead, Dens boss Jocky Scott said, “The SFA gave us dates yesterday.
“We responded and they turned round and said the dates we’d asked for were not suitable because they say this round of the cup has to be finished by next week, according to their rules and regulations.
“The SFA and Livi want us to play on Monday, with any replay going ahead on Wednesday.
“But we play Dunfermline here on Sunday, so we asked to either play the cup Tuesday/Wednesday, or even play the Livi game on Wednesday with any replay, if required, going ahead on Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week.
“But the SFA say next week is the last date that round can be played.
“Obviously, that’s a nightmare for us, because we have a big game against Dunfermline here on Sunday, and they are one of the sides in our division who are capable of putting a long run together and winning the league.
“We then face the prospect of two cup-tie games in one week followed by a trip to face another one of our league challengers Queen of the South.
“In effect, we can end up playing four games in the space of seven days.”
Meanwhile, Jocky, named Manager of the Month for December, confirmed he is interested in bringing young Aberdeen striker Michael Paton to the club on a loan deal.
The Dens gaffer is set to hold talks with Aberdeen boss Mark McGhee, who has expressed a willingness to farm out the 20-year-old in a bid to gain first-team experience.
Jocky also admitted he was chasing a few other transfer-window deals.
“I’ve made several inquiries about the availability of players and I’m just waiting for word back.”
The manager was keen to organise a game this week to keep his players ticking over, but a limited pool meant that plan had to be shelved.
He said, “The one problem we’ve had is that the last five or six games we’ve been operating with a squad of only 16 or 17.
“I would’ve liked to have played a bounce game today or tomorrow, but we can’t take a chance in case we pick up any knocks.”
Craig McKeown has had his loan period at Stirling Albion extended by another month. The central defender has played only one game for the Binos due to injury and postponements.
Striker Bryan Deasley, meanwhile, will stay on loan at Forfar until the end of the season. |
