Football Season Guide

It's been another summer of transition for Neil McCann, as his Dundee side look to improve on their uninspiring ninth-placed finish from last term. Escaping the clutches of relegation was always the primary target for Dundee last season after so many new signings but, considering they just stayed up with six points more than the sides relegated, improvement this season is a must. It hasn't been as big an overhaul in terms of squad additions as last term, but McCann went about reshaping his squad having to fill key holes. Mark O'Hara, Scott Bain, Simon Murray, and Kevin Holt were the big-name departures, with several of those gpas having been filled according to McCann. Yet, there still seems to be big question marks next to Dundee's defence ahead of the new season. Julen Etxabeguren, Kostadin Gadzhalov, and Jon Auternetxe all left the club over the summer, with replacements not being brought in so far in the window. Instead, McCann seems to have chosen to bolster his midfield, with Elton Ngwatala, Kharl Medianga, and Nathan Ralph all added for depth across the centre of the park. It's been a mostly foreign recruitment drive, and once again McCann has assembled a squad that won't know too much about each other. Much of Dundee's problems last season were down to a lack of chemistry between the players, and that appears to be an issue that could once again come up this season. Keeping the likes of Cammy Kerr, Paul McGowan, and Darren O'Dea gives them grit and consistency throughout different areas of the park, but it remains to be seen how they click with more unknown acquisitions. McCann's main problem heading into the season is a lack of quality in certain areas of the pitch, with an unbalanced nature to the squad size. Despite being littered with midfield options, defensive players are sparse in the Dees' squad. Sofien Moussa struggled for consistency last season up front, but has retained his place in the squad for the coming campaign, with El Bakhtaoui shipped out to Dunfermline Athletic on loan. So there remains big question marks over the squad as it stands, but Dundee should have enough to avoid that dreaded drop once more.