Sixteen months after arriving to widespread skepticism and being tipped by many punters as the Scottish Premiership's favourite for the sack, Steven Pressley has guided Dundee into fourth place after the opening round of fixtures. Following Wednesday's 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock, the Dens Park side have faced every club in the division and sit just three points behind Hearts. It marks a striking turnaround for the former Scotland defender, who was mocked for his interviews, rocky start, and matchday attire after openly stating at his June unveiling last year that he was not the man for anyone looking for a manager with a title-winning pedigree.
Dundee's rise has been built on strong home form, with Dens Park transformed into a fortress. Pressley's side have dispatched Motherwell, Aberdeen, and Kilmarnock on league business, while holding Rangers to a 2-2 draw, suffering their only home loss against Hibernian. On their travels, they impressed in a narrow 1-0 opening-day defeat at Celtic Park and claimed derby bragging rights with a 2-0 win at Tannadice. Their tenacity was on display again on Wednesday when Joe Hugill's penalty leveled the match before Dundee took control in a madcap final 10 minutes. Pressley told BBC Scotland: "The thing that really pleased me was after Kilmarnock scored and the momentum changed, we showed great resilience and determination and ran really hard. After the equaliser it is easy to feel sorry for yourselves. We didn't and we got a really important three points."
This momentum has been achieved despite significant squad disruption and injury setbacks. The club weathered the departures of Tony Yogane to Aberdeen, Luke Graham and Billy Koumetio from central defence, and Cam Congreve back to parent club Swansea City. Injuries also struck hard, with veteran icon Simon Murray suffering a serious injury early on, Bobby Wales, Finlay Robertson, and Jack Moorhouse sidelined, and Joe Westley missing a month. To counter the absences, Pressley utilized the English market effectively, bringing in Bournemouth loanee Owen Bevan, handing an introduction to fellow loanee Matia Akinmombi, and signing Wycombe Wanderers loanee Bradley Fink, who has delivered four goals in six appearances.
With Westley now returned to fitness and newcomers adapting to the Scottish top flight, Dundee have quieted pre-season pessimism, even as Pressley admitted he did not foresee reaching such heights just over a year into his tenure. Following a break, Dundee will travel to face St Johnstone a week on Saturday, followed by a home clash with Hearts—who required goals in the 84th and 96th minutes to beat them at Tynecastle last month—and a trip to Easter Road to meet a struggling Hibernian side. For a manager fast reaching cult hero status among his supporters, the performance lives up to his own famous remark: "Not bad for a 'jobby' team."