Iain Davidson returned after spell on the sidelines to his more familiar role of central midfield in the win over Livingston on Saturday.
‘Davo’ spoke to Dundee FC online ahead of the match up with his former side Raith Rovers this Tuesday as Dundee look to make it three wins in a row and extend their lead at the top of the SPFL Championship.
The midfielder who has been a regular at in the centre of the defence this season hadn’t started a game since late January due to injury and after his return to fitness has had to wait for his opportunity due to the form of those already in the starting eleven, he told us, “It was just one of those situations where you pick up an injury, and I’ve just had to be patient and show a good attitude in training. The boys have done really well since I’ve been out, it’s just one of those situations where you have to be professional and get on with it.
“I’ve had to bide my time and I’ve got in due to Kevin’s misfortune on Saturday being ill, and to be fair, Kevin’s done really well lately. Hopefully I have taken my chance and I can stay in the team now. Sad to see Kevin pick up the illness but you’ve got to grasp the opportunity. It was strange playing center midfield again but I thought I did OK job and I was happy with the team and the three points.”
Battling it out for a starting place in the midfield won’t be an easy task with multiple options for manager Paul Hartley now that players are returning to fitness, Davo said “There’s plenty competition in the middle of the park. You’ve got Jimmy McAlister who can play in there. Conroy, myself, Gavin Rae and McBride, it’s probably one of the strongest areas we have. You’ve got to make sure you are performing week in week out, hopefully I’ve done a job and can keep my place in the team but most importantly it is about the team and I thought it was a great team performance.”
His last game starting in the midfield was on day one of the season away to Queen of the South and after Davo put in a shift which saw him help Dundee dominate the 90 minutes at Livingston, he admitted it was a little strange being further forward again, “It’s something that I’ve not played for a while. I’ve played center back most of the season so think that was only my 2nd start at centre mid this season so I tired towards the end of the game, definitely more running compared to centre back, you don’t mind as long as you are playing, it was nice to be back there so hopefully I can maintain that position.”
Four games in quick succession come round for Dundee now, starting with Raith. Iain was keen to point out he hopes his former club stay in the division but he hopes they put the points on the board to do that after their visit to Dens. “They come thick and fast, couple of big weeks coming up for us, we’ll try prepare for the game properly. It’s a massive game, they have got a result on Saturday after struggling recently. It’s my old club so hopefully they can stay up, but hopefully we can take three points from them on Tuesday first and foremost
“I’d like to see them stay up but it’s all about us so we just have to roll on again on Tuesday.”
